


If Work Permits

by artist_artists



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-23
Updated: 2013-02-23
Packaged: 2017-12-03 07:25:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 87,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/695737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artist_artists/pseuds/artist_artists
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a bizarre attempt at a The Proposal AU written by somebody who saw the movie once a long time ago and didn’t like it very much. BASICALLY: Green card marriage fic with Sebastian as the editor-in-chief at a fashion magazine and Kurt as his assistant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, even though Kurt and Blaine are together at the beginning of this fic, I promise this is a Kurtbastian fic. There’s a reason I am not tagging it as a Klaine fic. I also promise that it doesn’t really make any party into the bad guy, and there is nothing that I would personally consider infidelity, if stuff like that bothers you. 
> 
> Everything is pretty canon-compliant in this fic (through the end of season three, this was written before season four started), except for Sebastian. Any background info we got from the show about Sebastian can be forgotten. No one met him in high school, his dad is not a state’s attorney, etc. Other than that, though, everything happened as we saw on TV. Also, just as a general note, this fic is not a rewrite of the movie with Kurt and Sebastian’s names substituted in there. I only saw the movie once about two years ago, so it’s mostly just the basic plot idea that I stole. 
> 
> This fic was completed last summer, and I just finished reposting it all here. I hope you guys enjoy!

Kurt Hummel would always remember the day he met Sebastian Smythe.

It was an unseasonably warm afternoon in late autumn, and Kurt’s office was abuzz with more than its usual Friday energy. Lori, the editor-in-chief of _La Chance_ magazine, was retiring after nine years, and the farewell party thrown in her honor that day caused more excitement than Kurt had experienced at work in his 10 months of employment there. Boisterous chatter filled the office while everyone drank champagne and snacked on crudités. Lori, who had imbibed a bit more alcohol than the rest of the staff, accepted all of the attention with a wide smile and a shimmering dollar-store tiara perched upon her head. Kurt had shared a few words with her earlier in the party, to wish her luck in her future and to tell her that he had enjoyed working under her.

Kurt didn’t just say these things because his impeccable decorum obligated him to. He meant his words. Though Kurt had not ever worked under her direct supervision, he would not have held his current position without her. After interning at the magazine in his last undergrad semester, working as an assistant to Tia, the advertising director, Lori had approved the creation of the social media consultant position for Kurt. He ran the magazine’s Twitter and Facebook accounts and kept a fashion blog on the website. It wasn’t his dream job by any stretch of the imagination, but Kurt considered himself fortunate. At 23, he had a salaried position at a well-known fashion magazine in New York City. It was hard to complain.

The job itself was easy and enjoyable, but that was not the reason Kurt had accepted the position when his internship ended. His dream of becoming a fashion designer was, at that point, not coming true as fast as he had planned. By continuing to work at the the magazine after graduation, Kurt figured he would have the opportunity to meet people in the industry and show them his designs. In college, he had built up an impressive portfolio, and one day, he hoped to have his own clothing line.

For now, though, he filled various social media sites with quirky observations about current trends, helpful what-not-to-wear articles, and, on occasion, links to his favorite cats-in-clothing videos on Youtube. When he got the occasional invite to an elite fashion show or gala, the work unrelated to his clothing line aspirations seemed worth the effort. He was thankful to Tia for petitioning Lori to hire him full-time, and he had plans to work at the magazine until he sold his first designs. 

That was not how things worked out.

-

When Sebastian Smythe joined the retirement celebration around three o’clock, Kurt noticed him walk in. Kurt found it hard to ignore an attractive man in a well-tailored suit, so he had noticed most things Sebastian had done in the office that week. The two of them had not been officially introduced yet, but everyone knew that Sebastian was the new editor-in-chief. Business-wise, the decision made little sense. Smythe was young, fresh out of business school, and had no experience working as an editor. His blood, however, gave him quite an advantage over other applicants. Since he was the nephew of _La Chance_ ’s founder, Charles Smythe, Sebastian’s appointment had caused a lot of ethics-related chatter around the office. 

Kurt could not have cared less about the nepotistic decision. His job didn’t involve dealing with the editor-in-chief, so except for an opportunity to work in the vicinity of a young, handsome guy, Kurt’s daily routine wouldn’t be affected by the change. Kurt might have had a boyfriend of six years waiting for him at home, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t appreciative of extra eye candy at work. He couldn’t understand why all of his co-workers were so troubled by the upcoming change. 

“You don’t understand,” Betsy had told him earlier that day. “You’ve never worked in an office before, so you don’t know, but the whole _culture_ changes when there’s a new boss.” Kurt, who didn’t care much for condescension coming from anywhere but his own lips, had just rolled his eyes. He thought his own flare for the dramatic was minor compared to that of some of his co-workers.

“I can’t believe you don’t care that the magazine might be run into the ground by some inexperienced prep school kid,” Philip had said over lunch. Kurt just shrugged. Surely it would take at least a few years for one man to completely destroy a popular national publication. Kurt had every intention to be out of the office by then, anyway, living the glamorous life of a world-famous fashion designer. He couldn’t imagine how Sebastian Smythe’s presence at _La Chance_ would affect him at all. 

It was Lori, with her cheeks red and her tiara askew, who introduced Kurt to Sebastian that Friday afternoon. Kurt and Tia were lurking around the dessert spread, waiting for someone else to be the first to cut into the raspberry cheesecake from Kurt’s favorite bakery, when Lori brought Sebastian over. 

“And this is Tia Bridges,” Lori told him. “She’s the-”

“Director of advertising, right?” Sebastian interrupted.

Tia smiled. “The one and only!” She shook Sebastian’s hand. “It’s good to finally be introduced. I’m looking forward to working with you.”

Sebastian broke eye contact with Tia and instead turned his attention to the desserts. “Uh, yeah. Yes. Definitely.” 

“Look at that, I am not as interesting as the cheesecake!” teased Tia. 

Lori and Kurt laughed, but Sebastian remained distracted.

“Well, it _is_ from Santino’s,” Kurt pointed out. “I don’t blame him.”

Tia rolled her eyes. “And there’s the first thing you need to know about working at _La Chance_ : Kurt is obsessed with Santino’s cheesecake.”

Sebastian looked over at Kurt, who held out his hand. “Kurt Hummel,” he said, giving Sebastian a smile as they shook hands. “Social media consultant and resident cheesecake aficionado.”

Sebastian’s expression remained impassive. “Kurt,” he said with a nod. “Nice to meet you.” 

“Oh, the pleasure’s all mine.” Kurt wasn’t flirting. He just happened to be much nicer and smile a lot more when speaking to attractive men. He had already lost Sebastian’s attention, though.

“Shouldn’t we, ah, go meet the rest of the writing staff?” he asked Lori.

“Yes, yes, of course,” she replied. “Tia, darling, make sure you come see me before you leave so I can say goodbye, okay?”

Kurt spent the next half hour with one eye on the cheesecake and the other on Lori and Sebastian as they circled the office for more introductions. One of the temps finally cut into the cheesecake, and Kurt and Tia had just helped themselves to a slice when Tia got a phone call from Janet in HR.

“Now?” asked Tia into the phone. “You know Lori’s party is still going on, right? Kurt and I are enjoying some delicious cheesecake as we speak!” After a pause, she sighed. “Yeah, okay. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” She hung up and shoveled a large forkful of cake into her mouth. After she swallowed as much as she could, she joked, “Friday afternoon and I’m getting called into HR, ohhh shit. If I get fired, just know that you were the most adorable intern I’ve ever had.”

Concern painted Kurt’s features. “You don’t think…”

Tia barked out a laugh. “Oh, honey, no! Holiday bonus time is upon us, everyone gets called into HR around this time of year. Figures that she’d call me out of a party, right?” She kissed Kurt’s cheek. “Have a good weekend if I don’t see you before you leave, okay? Give that cute boyfriend a kiss for me!”

When Kurt got his own phone call from Janet, it was a bit after four o’clock. The party was winding down, and he had been preparing to head back to his cubicle to get ready to leave. The prospect of an unexpected holiday bonus excited him, though, so he didn’t mind the delay.

Kurt had only been in Janet’s office twice before, to fill out paperwork relating to his internship and then again when he was hired. He didn’t know Janet that well, but he liked her. She always had a smile for everyone when she passed them in the hall or when she held employee meetings. 

“Hi, Kurt,” she greeted him. “Have a seat.” 

She was smiling, like always, but something about her tone made it clear she wasn’t about to deliver good news. Maybe Kurt hadn’t gotten a holiday bonus? It was silly to be mad about losing something he hadn’t known existed until an hour ago, but it made no sense. He did good work, his attendance record was pristine, and Tia was the one who would have written his bonus recommendation, as the head of his department, and she _loved_ him, so what could have gone wrong?

“Is the party still going on?” she asked once Kurt was seated. He nodded. “Oh, good. I was only able to stop by for a few minutes earlier, but it seemed like everybody was having a good time.”

“Uh, yeah,” agreed Kurt, shifting in his seat. “Great party.”

After a brief silence, Janet continued. “Well, Kurt, I’ve called you in here this evening because, as you know, we have a new editor-in-chief starting on Monday. You’ve met Mr. Smythe?”

“Yes, we were just introduced a little while ago at Lori’s party.”

“Oh, good. Well…” she stopped for a minute, trying to find the best way to phrase her next sentence. “I’m sure you understand that with new leadership comes a lot of change.”

“Of course,” Kurt replied. He was starting to regret his complete dismissal of his co-workers’ concerns. 

“Well, Mr. Smythe has decided to… revamp the advertising department a bit.” The smile on Janet’s face had morphed into something more like a grimace. “He’s bringing in a new director, and-”

“Wait, Tia was fired?” Kurt cried.

Janet looked flustered. “Well, yes, she was let go. The department has been having some issues, Kurt, and Mr. Smythe is looking to move in a new direction.”

“So…” Kurt tried to work out what this meant for him. “I’m getting a new boss?”

“Unfortunately, Kurt, the position you held is being eliminated, since it didn’t actually exist in the advertising department before Tia’s intervention.”

“But… Lori approved it,” Kurt sputtered. 

Janet’s eyes were filled with pity. “I know. But as of five p.m. today, Lori isn’t charge anymore.”

Kurt took a moment to let that sink in. “So I don’t have a job.”

“The position you held is being eliminated, yes. But don’t panic yet! We have a severance package to offer you, which means you’d get another month of salary and benefits. However, we do have another position opening up due to Lori’s departure that I think you’d be perfect for, if you’d rather not leave.”

Kurt perked up. “Really? Which position?”

Janet’s smile looked genuine again. “Mr. Smythe needs an assistant. Lori’s assistant is leaving with her, and he asked me to find a replacement. I know you don’t have the amount of experience normally required, but when you interned here, you were essentially working as Tia’s assistant, and she just raved about you.”

“Mr. Smythe’s assistant,” Kurt echoed. Though his internship at _La Chance_ had been an exciting and fun break from the monotony of classes, Kurt had been little more than an errand boy. He didn’t enjoy being bossed around, taking lunch orders, or doing any bit of busywork that no one higher on the chain wanted to bother with. 

“It’s a very important position, actually,” said Janet. “You’d be getting a raise.”

“Assistants make more than me?”

Janet chuckled. “I think you’re underestimating the amount of work assistants do, Kurt. And the editor-in-chief’s assistant in particular has a lot of responsibilities. It’s going to be a tough job, but I know you can handle it. I wouldn’t offer it to you otherwise. It isn’t only Tia that had good things to say about you.”

Kurt was surprised. He didn’t have problems with anyone at work, but Tia had been the only person he was really close to. He couldn’t imagine who else would have spoken on his behalf.

“Look,” Janet continued, “I know you’re not interested in being an assistant your whole life. We talked about you wanting your own line when you first started here, remember? I just wanted to give you the option to stay. Being Mr. Smythe’s assistant will keep you involved in the business, help you make more contacts, and maybe the right person will see your designs.”

Kurt, too upset by Tia’s dismissal and his own perceived demotion, had not considered this. That was why he had continued working at the magazine in the first place, to make enough money to stay in New York while networking as much as possible in the fashion industry. This wouldn’t change that. He might not enjoy his job as much, and Sebastian hadn’t seemed like the friendliest person on the planet, but he hadn’t been rude, either, and if the office gossip was to be believed, the two of them had more in common than just their youth and good looks. Maybe working with Sebastian wouldn’t be so bad. 

“That’s… that’s really great of you, Janet,” Kurt said. “I can’t believe you remembered that we talked about that. It means a lot. Thank you.”

“Does that mean you’ll take the job?”

Kurt considered it for a minute. Despite his hurt pride, the smartest thing to do would be to take the job. His other option was losing his connection to the industry and only having four weeks to find a new job that would pay his portion of the rent.

“Yes,” he answered. “I’ll take it.”

-

Before leaving work that afternoon, Kurt stopped at Tia’s office. The room had already been emptied out. Kurt still couldn’t believe that she had been fired. She was the closest thing to a friend he had at work, and he hadn’t even gotten to say goodbye. He had her number, but they rarely talked outside of work. Texting or calling would have felt awkward, especially right now, when she probably had more important things to deal with. 

As soon as he was outside and on his way to the subway station, Kurt took his cell phone out of his pants pocket and thought about which of his roommates he should call first. Blaine, his boyfriend, was usually the first person he told anything to, but Kurt wasn’t really in the mood to hear Blaine’s platitudes and optimism. It’s not that Blaine wouldn’t be sympathetic - he was always supportive and loving, but Kurt knew that after only a minute of sadness and anger on his behalf, he’d be trying to cheer Kurt up again and point out all the positive aspects of the situation. Kurt didn’t want a level-headed response, especially not after Janet’s parting words about having to show up at work an hour earlier on Monday and her warning that Sebastian was known to be difficult to work with. Rachel, his best friend and other roommate, was far more likely to provide the indignation and histrionics he craved. Plus, he reasoned, Blaine had no classes on Fridays, and he’d be at home when Kurt arrived. Rachel had rehearsal for her off-Broadway play tonight, and then had plans with her boyfriend, so he might not see her until tomorrow or Sunday.

“Rachel,” he said as soon as she answered. “You will not _believe_ what happened to me today.”

-

Rachel, as Kurt predicted, had indulged his need for drama during their phone conversation. She even offered to call her boyfriend Thom and have him talk to his sister, who worked at the Department of Labor, but Kurt assured her that was not necessary, as nothing illegal had taken place. 

“Well, _someone_ should pay for this,” she had seethed. “Oh, god, your Twitter updates were _so_ funny! Who’s going to be in charge of that now?” She hadn’t waited for a reply. “The magazine is going to fail without your razor-sharp wit, Kurt. I’m sure of it.”

That had, at last, brought a laugh out of him, and when he arrived home to his Brooklyn apartment, he was feeling much better, and more prepared to agree with Blaine’s inevitable optimism. 

Blaine was seated on the couch playing a video game when Kurt entered the apartment. Papers were strewn across the coffee table next to Blaine’s laptop, where a word processor was open. He was dressed in sweats and had a few days worth of stubble on his face.

“Hey,” Kurt greeted, closing the door behind him.

Blaine looked up from his game and smiled. “Hey! How was Lori’s party?”

“Well, they had a cheesecake from Santino’s.”

“So… wonderful, then?”

“It was pretty good, yeah.” Kurt couldn’t help but go for the dramatic reveal. “Until I was called into Janet’s office and told my position at the magazine had been eliminated.”

Blaine gasped. “You got fired?!”

“No,” Kurt admitted, satisfied with Blaine’s level of horror. He had even paused his video game. “Tia did, though. They transferred me. I’m going to be the new editor’s assistant.”

“That’s… ugh, that sucks, Kurt. I know you loved doing the website stuff.”

“Yeah, I don’t really want to be an assistant to anyone, let alone the guy that fired Tia before he even officially became the editor.”

Blaine frowned. “Is she OK?” 

“I don’t know.” Kurt collapsed onto the couch next to Blaine, who lifted his arm so Kurt could burrow into his side. “I didn’t see her after it happened. I’m going to text her in a few days, I think.”

“Are you going to quit?” asked Blaine after a minute of holding Kurt in silence.

“I don’t think so. Not yet, anyway. I’m getting a raise, and if I’m working so closely with the editor-in-chief, I might have even more opportunities to network.”

“True,” murmured Blaine. 

“And I kind of got the impression Janet really stuck her neck out to keep me around,” Kurt explained. 

“I didn’t know you guys knew each other that well.”

“We don’t, actually. It was really nice of her.”

Blaine sighed. “I’m sorry you have to do assistant stuff again. That sucks. But at least you’re going to get paid more. And, hey, maybe this guy won’t be as bad as you think.”

“I met him today,” Kurt said, pulling away from Blaine’s side and sitting up. “Only for a minute though. I couldn’t really get a read on his personality. Even cuter up close, though.”

“Oh, yeah?” 

“Yeah. But Janet warned me that he might be difficult to work with.”

“Ah, us gorgeous guys always are,” Blaine said with a grin.

Kurt swatted at Blaine’s arm. “I just don’t know if I can handle working for a diva. Tia was so low-key.”

“Well, if you end up hating it, we can always escape to one of these out-of-state grad schools,” Blaine joked, indicating the mess of papers on the coffee table. He was one semester away from his psychology degree, and he was planning on starting a clinical PhD program the next year. A lot of his grad school applications needed to be sent in by the following week.

Most of the schools Blaine was applying to were in the New York area, but Kurt had said that he was also willing to move to the Los Angeles area, since there might be fashion opportunities for him there as well. He was hoping a move wouldn’t be necessary, though, because whether or not Kurt loved his job, New York felt like home now. Blaine was just as passionate about continuing his education as Kurt was about fashion. It was something they loved about each other, but Kurt feared it was also pulling them apart. Kurt had felt the distance between them gathering strength in the past year, but he didn’t know how to repair it. He and Blaine had always prided themselves on their excellent communication, and in most ways, that was still true. They knew every detail about each other’s lives, but this looming threat was something Kurt didn’t know how to put into words. How do you tell the guy you’ve been seeing since high school that you love him and can’t imagine your life without him, but that you’ve also stopped dreaming about marrying him and growing old together? Blaine felt the distance, too, Kurt was sure of it. He was also sure that the moment when they could no longer avoid the issue was fast approaching. He thought the grad school decision-making process would probably be the impetus, and that was the main reason that all of Blaine’s application talk made Kurt uncomfortable. It was hard to avoid, though, as the deadlines approached and Blaine focused on little else. 

“Did you get a lot of work done on those applications today?” Kurt asked. 

Blaine sighed. “They’re done, mostly. I’m still kind of panicking about my personal statements.”

“I wouldn’t edit them too much. I thought they were wonderful,” Kurt assured him.

This brought the smile back to Blaine’s face. “Thank you. I just want everything to be perfect. I want to make sure I’m representing the very best parts of myself. This is just… so important, you know.”

“Yeah,” Kurt agreed, burrowing back into Blaine’s side in an attempt to protect himself from fears of an uncertain future, “I know.”

-

Kurt showed up early on his first day as Sebastian’s assistant, just as Janet had instructed. The whole floor that _La Chance_ ’s offices occupied was deserted. The door to the editor-in-chief’s office was locked, and Kurt had a brief moment of panic, thinking he’d missed an instruction about where to report. He decided he couldn’t have, though, and Sebastian must be late. 

Kurt took a seat at his old cubicle, unsure of where else he could wait. The cubicle, clean and bare after Kurt had packed up his things Friday, depressed him. He wasn’t sure if he’d have a place to put up his pictures and display his knickknacks, but he’d brought them in his satchel today just in case.

By the time Sebastian arrived, sporting glasses and looking flawless in another fine suit, it was 40 minutes later than he’d requested Kurt’s presence. Kurt had started to get angry.

“Hey,” Kurt called as Sebastian unlocked the door to his office. “Mr. Smythe?”

Sebastian pushed the door open and looked over at Kurt as he approached. “Please don’t call me that. You’re Kurt, right? My assistant?”

“Yes, sir,” Kurt said, unsure of how to address the other man. He had been introduced to Kurt as Sebastian, but Janet had referred to him as Mr. Smythe, and Kurt hadn’t wanted to seem disrespectful. “Um, what do you prefer to be called?”

“My name is Sebastian,” he reminded Kurt. “Or don’t you remember meeting me?”

“Of course,” Kurt replied, taken aback by Sebastian’s icy tone. “I’m sorry.”

p>Sebastian ignored the apology and gestured for Kurt to follow him inside the office. All of Lori’s personal belongings were gone, and a few cardboard boxes littered the floor. The desk, chairs, and computer were still there, along with the filing cabinet and a small table. Sebastian headed to the chair behind the desk and turned on the computer’s monitor, but said nothing else to Kurt, who hovered in the doorway. After a minute, Kurt decided to break the silence.

“Did you, um, have some trouble on the way in?” While Kurt was not interested in getting on his boss’s bad side, he found it hard to disregard the late arrival. 

Sebastian peered up at him from under his glasses. “No, why?”

“Well, Janet told me that you wanted me here by 7:30.”

“Yes, and were you here at 7:30?”

Kurt frowned. “Yes, but you weren’t.”

“It was your instruction, not mine,” Sebastian replied. “But congratulations on following orders. In the future, maybe question them a little less.”

Kurt clenched his fists, but tried to control the anger in his voice. “I’m not supposed to question orders that have no purpose? Maybe on other days I’ll have work to do before you get here, but this morning you knew no one would be here and that I had no instructions, and you made me come in early anyway.”

Sebastian was typing now, and seemed to be barely paying attention to Kurt. “OK, let me spell it out for you,” he said, still not making eye contact. “I need an assistant who’s going to do what I tell them to do, no matter how stupid they think it might be.”

“Did you ever intend on showing up at 7:30, or was it just a test?” Kurt asked. 

Sebastian gave him a smug smile. “Does it matter?”

Kurt sighed. “I’m guessing the answer you’re looking for is ‘no’?”

“You learn fast,” said Sebastian. “Now can you come in and sit down already?”

Kurt entered the room, took a seat in the office chair on the other side of Sebastian’s desk, and awaited further instruction. He knew he was not being as polite and deferential as one should be on the first day working with a new boss, but Kurt was relieved enough to not be hurling biting insults at the condescending asshole at this point.

“Now, judging from how bitter you got over having to show up at 7:30, I feel obliged to inform you that while you’re working for me, you won’t really have set hours,” Sebastian explained. “You’ll work when I need you to work. Maybe it will be at 5am. Maybe you’ll work 80 hour weeks. Who knows?”

Kurt didn’t respond. He figured Sebastian was exaggerating a little, but this job was looking worse by the minute.

“I’ll also need you on some weekends, if there’s an event or something,” continued Sebastian. I’m going to need your cell phone number so I can reach you whenever I need to.” 

Kurt, distracted by the possibility of attending more events than he had been allowed to in the past, took a moment to realize Sebastian was waiting to enter the number into his phone. Kurt recited his number, and then Sebastian turned his attention back to his computer.

“I need you to schedule meetings today,” he said after examining the screen for a minute. “One with each department. I met most people last week, but I need them to meet me in a more formal setting where I am clearly in charge, so I can explain my vision for the magazine.”

“I think Janet schedules the meetings, actually,” Kurt informed him. “She has to make sure there’s a conference room available, and that everyone gets the memos, and-”

“I don’t care how it’s done,” interrupted Sebastian. “That’s your job. Talk to Janet, whatever. Make it happen. I want the first meeting to be at 12. They’ll probably be about 45 minutes each. Make sure the memos are sent out by nine o’clock so no one can bitch about having to reschedule lunch plans.” 

“Nine?” Kurt asked. It was after eight already.

Sebastian narrowed his eyes. “Nine,” he confirmed. “Then I need you back here to help me plan the meetings.”

“You need me to help you plan what you’re going to say about _your_ vision for the magazine?” Kurt asked, ignoring the voice in his head that had been repeating _do not question the ridiculous orders_ for the past five minutes. “Should I come up with an outline on what your vision is before nine, as well?”

Sebastian sighed. “Jesus, you are a pain in the ass, aren’t you? You’re lucky I have such a high tolerance for bullshit.”

Kurt managed to stop himself from saying “So are you,” and instead asked, “Where am I supposed to work from? Do I have an office, or a desk somewhere?”

“An office,” laughed Sebastian. “That’s cute, really.”

Kurt gripped the arm of his chair. “Where am I working from?” he inquired again. 

“You’ll be out and about most days, probably, or just working in here with me,” he said, pointing out the small table in the back corner of the office. “If you need a desk when I’m busy in here or I just don’t feel like looking at you, I think there’s an empty cubicle right outside this office.”

Kurt stood up, intending to locate the empty cubicle and start talking to Janet about the meetings, but Sebastian stopped him. 

“Actually, wait, where’s the nearest Starbucks?”

Kurt paused. “Um, about six blocks away, I think. But there’s a great coffee place right downstairs, if you-”

Sebastian was already taking a 20 dollar bill out of his wallet. “Run to Starbucks and get me a caramel macchiato before you do anything else, OK? I’m fucking exhausted, and I will not make it through this day without more caffeine.”

“If you’re sending me on some sort of epic journey to get you a drink that, for the record, could be purchased in five minutes by a trip downstairs, you should know that your meetings are not going to be planned by nine o’clock.” Sebastian opened his mouth to say something, but Kurt continued before he could. “I’m not _questioning your orders_ , of course, I’m just letting you know that they are physically impossible in this particular case.”

“More whining,” remarked Sebastian. “Exercise is a good thing, Kurt. You shouldn’t be afraid of it.”

Kurt was horrified by the very suggestion. His penchant for junk food required him to spend a lot of time working out in order to maintain his figure. “I’m not a-”

“And unless your phone is 10 years old, I cannot imagine it doesn’t have email capabilities that you can utilize on your trip. The ability to multitask is an invaluable skill for assistants to have, Kurt. I suggest you master it quickly.”

Kurt finally snapped. “Do people seriously let you get away with this shit just because your uncle owns the magazine?”

Sebastian had seemed quite calm throughout their exchange thus far, but now his eyes were fiery and his jaw was clenched. “I get away with this because I’m in charge now. My uncle has nothing to do with it.” He paused for a moment to collect himself, then held out the 20 dollar bill. “I believe you have a caramel macchiato to fetch?”

Kurt snatched the money from Sebastian and left the office without another word. He ignored the people starting to fill the rest of the office and sent up a prayer to the Flying Spaghetti Monster in the sky that he would survive this job long enough to help kickstart his clothing line. 


	2. Chapter 2

In the weeks after Kurt’s transfer, he was asked to do a lot of things he never thought he’d have to do while working at _La Chance_. 

Though he had taken to buying a caramel macchiato for Sebastian before even entering the office in the morning, he was still sent out multiple times a day to fetch food and beverages. Once, Sebastian had required him to get his cell phone number changed.

“I was really drunk on Saturday and I’m pretty sure I gave the guy I hooked up with my actual number,” he explained. “Oh, and make sure to inform all of my contacts of the change.” 

Sebastian also had Kurt draft every office-wide email that needed to be sent. Sebastian would then spend the next 10 minutes picking apart every word that Kurt had written. “Did you ever actually take an English class, Kurt?” he’d asked one time. “Because I have a four-year-old French cousin who could write these more coherently.”

“You know, you spend more time critiquing my emails than it would take you to write them yourself,” Kurt informed him. He had given up any attempts to be polite to his boss at all times. Kurt did what he was asked, but always made sure his feelings were made apparent to Sebastian.

“It is a waste of time,” Sebastian agreed. “It’s a shame you can’t learn how to write succinct emails that make sense, so I wouldn’t have to spend all this time editing them.”

Kurt received the final versions of these office-wide emails just like everyone else. They were never actually edited from his original drafts. 

Another one of Sebastian’s strange requests involved gathering hundreds of pages of information on U.S. work visas and green cards. 

“Do you know someone who’s trying to get a green card or something?” Kurt had asked him.

“I’m here on a work visa,” Sebastian answered. “I should have a green card fairly soon, I just want to make sure everything is in order.”

“Oh,” Kurt replied, surprised. “I didn’t know you weren’t American.”

“I’m from Paris. I did most of my schooling here, though.”

“I’ve always wanted to go to Paris,” Kurt said. “Do you like it there?”

Sebastian shrugged. “I guess.”

“You speak French, then?” Kurt couldn’t hide his excitement.

Sebastian finally looked up from his work and gave Kurt his full attention then. “Of course. Do you?”

“Bien sûr!” Kurt answered, smiling. 

Sebastian rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to his computer. “Your accent is terrible.”

“My teacher always said my accent was excellent,” Kurt mumbled. “I got a 5 on my French AP.”

“How wonderful for you. Get back to work, OK? That stuff’s important.”

“Right,” Kurt said. “It _would_ be in my job description to keep you from getting deported. I don’t think you’ll have a problem getting permanent residency, though, based on what I’ve read. I’m sure your uncle could convince the appropriate government officials that your job here is vital and can only be done by you, et cetera.”

Sebastian kept his gaze on his screen. “Of course he could.”

-

A lot of Kurt’s time was spent with Janet, getting meetings scheduled. Sebastian called a _lot_ of meetings. He wanted to be involved with every part of the process, and he didn’t trust the staff to be doing any work unless they had a meeting every day where they were forced to discuss their progress. Kurt could feel the attitude of the office changing. People were angry, bitter, and quiet at their desks. They talked in the break room, but their voices went silent as soon as they saw Kurt enter. It hurt, even though Kurt had never had any close friends there. People had always been nice to him, at least, and now they were distant and cold. At first, he had tried to make it clear that he didn’t agree with anything that Sebastian did, but those efforts proved pointless. Kurt was on the wrong side. He was a traitor. Betsy’s warning from last month ran through his head more often than he’d like to admit . “ _The whole_ culture _changes when there’s a new boss._ ” 

Kurt dealt with it better than most would have, though. Having spent most of his adolescence being loathed by everyone at school, he was used to dealing with irrational, misguided hatred. It wasn’t _fun_ , and Kurt wasn’t pleased that he was going through it again, but it was doable. When his first paycheck was deposited into his bank account, it felt _more_ than doable. He and Blaine had celebrated with a fancy date night, having dinner and seeing a Broadway show on Kurt’s dime. The two of them were not poor, really, but Blaine was still being funded by his parents and the few part-time jobs he’d held throughout college, and Kurt had been too proud to ask for any help from his own parents since he’d graduated. They hadn’t splurged lately, and it had felt wonderful.

So wonderful, in fact, that Kurt had almost forgotten the day a few weeks prior, when he stood in line at the post office, waiting to send off Blaine’s applications for him, and contemplated ‘misplacing’ some of them. It was a terrible thought, and Kurt had quashed it almost immediately, but mostly because he couldn’t decide if he would rather get rid of the California applications, so Blaine could go to a New York school and everything could stay the same, or the New York applications, so Blaine would have to move, and it would force the two of them to talk about their future. He ended up not looking at the applications at all, fearing that he might do something he’d regret. The post office worker had looked startled when he shoved the stack of thick envelopes at her, just wanting them to be out of his hands, demanding that they be sent express with delivery confirmation.

The date had been their first real outing in a while. Blaine had been so busy with school and the applications lately, and this semester he had night classes twice a week, which cut into the time he shared at home with Kurt. Maybe, Kurt considered, they just hadn’t enough time together, and that was the only problem. When Kurt had Blaine bent over the arm of the couch after they got back from the show that night, things felt like they had gone back to normal. Blaine had pulled him close when they were snuggling on the couch after, nuzzled into his neck, and murmured, “I am _so glad_ that Rachel spends so much time at Thom’s now.” As they laughed, Kurt remembered how it felt to be certain about your future. 

A few weeks later, Sebastian asked Kurt to be his fiancé.

-

Kurt knew something was weird as soon as his phone rang on a Wednesday night and Sebastian’s name appeared on the screen. Sebastian texted his demands, but he had never called before.

“I need you to work Saturday night,” Sebastian said as soon as Kurt picked up. 

“I can’t,” he replied. 

“Too bad. It’s important. Cancel your plans.”

“My plans are important,” Kurt argued. He and Blaine had managed to find another night that they were both free, and they had planned another theater date. 

“So is your job,” was Sebastian’s answer. “I told you that you’d have to work some weekends.”

“I was under the impression I’d have a bit more notice.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t. I just need to you to come with me to this holiday charity gala-”

“I _know_ you knew about this before tonight,” Kurt cried. “You were probably invited weeks ago!”

“Look, I’ll explain tomorrow, I just wanted to tell you to cancel your weekend plans.”

“I have a date with Blaine, Sebastian,” Kurt insisted. “I’m not canceling it.”

Sebastian burst out laughing. “No one goes on dates with their live-in boyfriends, Kurt, Jesus.”

“Like you would know what people in long-term relationships do. Has anyone been able to tolerate you for more than three days at a time?”

“Just you, sweetheart. Tell your lesbian life partner you’ll go out Sunday instead.”

Kurt paused. He had made it a point to not get too personal with Sebastian, and he didn’t know how to explain that his plans with Blaine _were_ really important, and he wasn’t just being whiny. In fact, on any other night he would have jumped at the chance to attend a gala. 

“It’s just… a really bad night for me to cancel plans,” Kurt said.

Sebastian grunted in frustration. “Okay, what do you want?”

“What do I want?”

“What do I have to do for you to make you do this?” Sebastian clarified.

Kurt was getting curious. “Why do you need me at a gala, anyway?”

Sebastian ignored the question. “I’ll let you buy your own drinks at Starbucks when you buy me my macchiatos.”

“Starbucks is gross. I prefer the place downstairs.”

“You can buy drinks from wherever the fuck you want, OK?” Sebastian growled. With this amount of desperation, Kurt knew he could go further than free coffee.

“What about vacation time?” he asked.

“I don’t have any control over that,” replied Sebastian.

Kurt took a deep breath and hoped that Blaine would understand. “No, but if I were to miss some days with no notice at some point in the future, and you were to explain it by saying you sent me to do some errands, no one would think twice about it.” First year employees didn’t get that much vacation time, and Kurt was using most of his for Finn’s wedding in June.

Sebastian considered this for a minute. “Fine. Three days. And you can’t just not show up, you have to text me in the morning so I can get my own macchiato, since that’s the only important thing you do.”

Kurt ignored the dig. “Five days, and I won’t even spit into your drink tomorrow.”

Sebastian sighed. “Done. Make sure you’re in by eight tomorrow.”

“Fine. I’ll see you then.”

“Yeah,” Sebastian said. “Actually, wait, I need to know your ring size.”

“Usually a nine and a half,” Kurt answered without thinking. “Sometimes I have to size up a b-”

“That’s good enough. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“Wait, why do you need my ring size?” Kurt asked once he comprehended the strangeness of the question. “Sebastian?”

The call had been disconnected.

-

Blaine didn’t return home from class until after 10:30 that night. Normally, Kurt wouldn’t have been up past 10 on a work night. His morning routine of working out, outfit planning, hair styling, and breakfast required him to be up by five a.m., but he made sure to stay awake so he could talk to Blaine about Saturday’s change of plans. Kurt felt guilty about agreeing to go to the gala with Sebastian, even though he had bargained for time off that he could spend with Blaine. 

Kurt was lying in bed reading when he heard Blaine come through the apartment door. Since he knew Blaine would assume he was sleeping and wouldn’t come into the bedroom until he was ready for bed, Kurt got up. He found Blaine in the kitchen, making himself a peanut butter sandwich.

“Hey, you’re up!” Blaine said when he spotted Kurt. 

“I am,” Kurt affirmed. He meant to go right into the changed plans for Saturday, but he wasn’t quite ready for the full force of Blaine’s puppy dog stare yet. “How was class?”

“Looooong,” Blaine groaned. “I cannot believe I am willingly signing up for, like, five more years of this.”

Kurt laughed. “Me either. So, um… I have some bad news.” Blaine’s expression turned panicked. “Oh, no, nothing serious!” he says, reaching out to touch Blaine’s arm in comfort. “It’s just… my boss called earlier, and I have to work Saturday night.”

Kurt felt Blaine relax under his touch. “Oh.”

“I’m sorry, I was really looking forward to our date, but we can reschedule! He was so desperate for me to work that I managed to get some extra vacation days out of him, so we can spend some time together that way.”

“Yeah, that will be great,” Blaine said, smiling. “What are you doing on a Saturday?”

“Apparently, it’s some sort of charity gala. Rich people like to feel generous around the holidays, I guess.”

“Ooooh. Fancy!” Blaine took a bite of his sandwich, which muffled his next words. “You must be excited.”

“A little,” Kurt admitted. “Mostly I just feel bad that I have to break our date.”

Blaine swallowed. “Don’t feel bad! I was actually going to ask if we could reschedule it, anyway.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, some people in my Memory and Thinking class want to get together to study for our final, and Saturday night was the only time everyone was free.” 

_Everyone but you_ , Kurt thought. “That’s… OK , well I guess it works out for both of us then.”

“Yep,” Blaine said with a grin. “You get to party with New York’s elite with your evil boss, and I get to sit in Indrajit’s living room studying with a bunch of stir-crazy psych majors.”

Kurt, who had been expecting sad eyes and a pout, didn’t know how to deal with Blaine’s cheerfulness. “We’ll reschedule. Maybe next week?”

“Maybe,” Blaine replied. “Or maybe after finals are over. I’ll have much more time then.”

“Right.” Kurt watched Blaine eat his sandwich for another minute before saying, “Well, I better get to bed. It’s late.”

“OK.” Blaine leaned over and gave Kurt a peck on the lips.

“Ugh, you taste like peanut butter,” Kurt joked, twisting away.

Blaine grinned. “You love it.”

“Good night, Blaine,” Kurt said, rolling his eyes.

“Night!”

-

As Kurt ate his cereal at the kitchen counter the next morning, he was still thinking about how he spent all last evening agonizing over having to cancel a date because of work, when Blaine was already planning on canceling it anyway. Kurt knew that he shouldn’t be upset, because it had worked out well for both of them. It still hurt, though, knowing that Blaine chose a study group over a date with his boyfriend. Had Blaine even tried to find a time that they were all available, or had he been eager to cancel their date? 

The door to the apartment crashed open, breaking Kurt’s train of thought. Rachel strolled in, humming under her breath.

“Good morning, daaaarling,” she sang as soon as she noticed Kurt standing at the counter.

“Morning,” he greeted. “You seem… chipper.”

She grinned. “I had a good night.”

“I bet,” Kurt said. 

“You’re up a bit earlier than normal, aren’t you?” she asked, heading to the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water. 

“Yeah, my boss asked me to come in early today.”

Rachel scrunched up her nose in disgust. “I’m sorry. Did you and Blaine enjoy your evening alone, though?”

“Blaine has class Wednesday nights, remember? We barely saw each other yesterday.”

“Oh, right. That sucks,” she replied. “But you have your big date on Saturday, right?”

Kurt frowned at the reminder. “We have to reschedule, actually. My boss wants me to go to a charity gala with him and Blaine has a study group.”

“That’s too bad,” she said.

“Yeah,” Kurt agreed. “It’s not that big of a deal, but…” he trailed off, wondering how much he should share. He had kept his burgeoning issues with Blaine to himself, because most of his friends were Blaine’s friends, too. Getting their mutual friends involved in this awkwardness was not something Kurt wanted to do. Only Tia didn’t know Blaine well, but she and Kurt had only exchanged a few short text conversations since she had been fired from La Chance. Oddly enough, the person Kurt talked to the most was Sebastian. Somehow, Kurt doubted that he would have any helpful advice. He was desperate for someone to take his side in this, though, to justify the hurt he was feeling, so he decided to take a chance on Rachel. “It’s weird. I tried to get out of doing this gala on Saturday, but I couldn’t, and then Blaine wasn’t even upset, because he’d already made other plans anyway.”

Rachel frowned. “So, you both made other plans. What’s the big deal?”

“No,” Kurt corrected her. “Blaine made other plans, I have to _work_.”

“Kurt, don’t act like you couldn’t have gotten out of this. It’s a gala! I know you’re excited about it.”

“My boss was really persistent, Rachel. I didn’t just immediately agree.”

“Maybe not,” she said. “But I know you well enough to know you wouldn’t have canceled on Blaine if you didn’t want to go to this gala. If your boss had asked you to spend all night filing papers, you wouldn’t have agreed to it.”

“It’s my job,” Kurt argued, even though he knew that Rachel was right. He had relented pretty quickly. “I have to do what I’m told.”

She shrugged. “I really don’t see what the problem is. You want to go to the gala, Blaine wants to go study with his classmates.”

She was right. It shouldn’t be a problem. They were doing what they wanted to do. Kurt just found it troubling that they were both choosing other people’s company over their own, no matter the situation.

“Seriously, Kurt,” Rachel continued. “Couples don’t have to spend _all_ of their time together.”

_But_ , Kurt thought as Rachel excused herself to the bathroom, s _houldn’t they at least spend_ some _time together?_

-

When Kurt arrived at work, Sebastian was already in his office. The door had been left slightly ajar, but Kurt knocked to announce his presence before walking in. 

“You’re late,” Sebastian said, motioning for Kurt to come in. 

Kurt checked his watch as he walked in and sat down across from Sebastian. “It’s not eight yet.”

“Where were you born? I tried to get your file from Janet, but that bitch re-”

“Excuse me?” Kurt asked, startled by the sudden change of subject and the harsh words about one of the nicest women he’d ever met. “How can you say that about _Janet_?”

“She’s hideous,” Sebastian replied. “Where were you born?”

“You know I’m from Ohio,” Kurt snapped. As soon as Sebastian had found this out, he started inserting the word ‘buckeye’ into some of his wordier insults for Kurt. 

“Actually, I try to block out any of your incessant squawking that doesn’t directly concern me,” Sebastian replied. “So you were born in Ohio? In a hospital, or the bleachers at a college football game, or a Wendy’s parking lot, in _Ohio_?”

“Yes,” Kurt confirmed. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Nothing, yet,” Sebastian replied. “Anyway, we need to talk about Saturday.” He took a manila envelope out of his drawer and slid it across the desk to Kurt. As Kurt peered inside, Sebastian continued. “What I need you to do at this gala is sort of… complicated.”

Kurt, who had reached into the envelope and pulled out the small object inside. “Why is there a ring in this envelope?” The memory of Sebastian’s odd question about his ring size came back to him, and his voice rose an octave. “Why did you buy me a ring?”

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “God, you’re being a drama queen and I haven’t even explained anything yet. I should have known.”

“So explain!” Kurt cried, holding the ring between two of his fingers. It was a plain band, but it looked expensive. Kurt guessed it was platinum. 

“You’re going to have to not screech like that anymore if you want me to explain,” Sebastian said. “I don’t have any ear plugs on me, and I don’t want to go deaf.” 

Kurt glared at him, but shut his mouth.

“Put the ring on,” Sebastian instructed. “Make sure it fits well enough.”

Kurt slips the ring onto his right ring finger. “It fits fine.”

“It goes on your other hand.”

“Sebastian…” Kurt refused to give him the satisfaction of screeching.

“Just put it on, will you?”

Kurt huffed out a sigh and jammed the ring onto his left ring finger. “See? It fits.” He took off the ring and tossed it on the desk. “Now please explain why you’ve brought me a wedding ring?”

“An engagement ring,” Sebastian corrected. “And you should treat it better than that, it was expensive.”

“Did you buy this after we talked last night? _How_?”

“Obviously,” said Sebastian, smirking. “I know a guy.”

“Of course you do,” Kurt replied. “Why, pray tell, have you decided to buy me an engagement ring?” He can’t imagine why Sebastian wants people at this holiday gala to think his assistant is engaged.

“Because you’re coming to this charity gala as my date, not my assistant,” Sebastian said. 

Kurt waited for further explanation, but none came. “I’m going to this gala as your… fiancé.”

“Yes,” confirmed Sebastian. “Didn’t I hear you babbling once about your misguided adolescent dreams of becoming an actor? 

“I’m an excellent actor,” Kurt insisted. “Not that it matters. I’m not going to pretend to be engaged to you.”

“You already agreed,” said Sebastian. “Verbal contracts are binding.”

“They are not,” Kurt snapped. “And you didn’t tell me this was going to be a date.”

Sebastian grunted in frustration. “It’s not a date. You just have to pretend to be engaged to me for, like, three hours. It’s easy.”

“I’d have to give an Oscar-worthy performance to convince anyone that I can even _tolerate_ you,” Kurt seethed. 

“Oh, I doubt it,” Sebastian said. “The people I’m trying to convince aren’t terribly intelligent.”

“Are you ever going to explain why you need me to pretend to be your fiancé?” Kurt asked. He’d had a lot of strange requests from Sebastian in the past month, but this was beyond ridiculous. 

“It’s not important. Suffice it to say that I need to have a date to this event.”

“And you can’t find a date on your own, so you’re bribing me to go with you?”

Sebastian glared at him. “The line of men wanting to date me would stretch on for blocks. I don’t need you to _date_ _me_ , fuck, are you deaf?” 

“You’re not making any sense!” Kurt cried. “Look, just bring one of your alleged admirers to this thing. I’m not doing it. Not if you can’t even explain why you suddenly need to convince people you’re engaged.” This was when the pieces fit together in Kurt’s brain. “Oh my God, does this have something to do with your work visa? Are you doing this to get a _green card_?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Sebastian said. “Explain how pretending to be engaged at a charity event will help someone get a green card.”

Kurt thought about it for a second. “I… I don’t know,” he admitted. “But you asked where I was born and then gave me an engagement ring. What am I supposed to think?”

“I need to know basic facts about you if I’m going to convince people we’re engaged,” Sebastian said. “Look, here’s the deal. One of the board members that’s going to be at this party campaigned really hard for me to get this job. The rest of the board, and my uncle, wouldn’t have given me a chance otherwise. He thinks I’m engaged, so I need to be engaged. That’s it.”

“And why does he think you’re engaged?”

“I was saying whatever I had to say to get him on my good side. He was one of the first guys in line for a marriage license after they passed the marriage equality bill here, so I mentioned I was getting married as well.”

“That’s disgusting,” Kurt said.

Sebastian shrugged. “It worked. And I didn’t think I’d be seeing much of him, honestly. But I ran into him yesterday, and he said he couldn’t wait to meet my fiancé on Saturday at the gala.”

“So why didn’t you just tell him your imaginary fiancé had imaginary plans?”

“He was persistent,” Sebastian replied. “And I got flustered. I think you’ll be able to convince him it’s legit. He _wants_ to believe it, and you’re clearly the stupid romantic type who’d say yes to a marriage proposal.”

“From someone I was dating, maybe.”

“And you’re not _completely_ hideous.”

Kurt laughed. “Compliments now? You must be desperate.”

“And I knew you’d be excited about buying a pretty new dress for the ball,” Sebastian continued.

“There we go,” Kurt mumbled. “Look, I appreciate that you think I’m ‘not completely hideous,’ but I really can’t do this. I have an actual fi-, um, actual boyfriend, and I don’t think he’d be okay with this.”

“You have to ask your boyfriend _permission_ to do things,” Sebastian scoffed. “Of course.”

“I don’t need permission to do anything,” Kurt argued. “I just try to avoid doing things that hurt the people I love. That might be a strange concept to you.”

Sebastian ignored Kurt’s insult. “I fail to see how playing a role at a party for a few hours will hurt anyone.”

Kurt took a moment to think. It _would_ be a harmless act, in all likelihood. Well, harmless to everyone except the people being duped into believing that Sebastian was a pleasant individual. Despite Kurt’s protests, he doubted this could actually hurt Blaine at all. And, yeah, he did really want to go to this gala.

“I’d need tomorrow off,” Kurt said. “To buy an outfit.”

“No,” Sebastian responded immediately. “I see the shit you wear here every day, you have plenty of clothes nice enough for this.”

“No, this definitely requires a new outfit,” Kurt said, tapping his chin. “And since this is a work-related expense, I should probably use the expense account.”

“You can’t use the expense account for clothes,” Sebastian insisted. “It’s against company policy.”

“Oh,” Kurt said. “That’s a shame. Is it also against company policy to make your assistant pretend to be the fiancé you invented to impress members of the board?”

Sebastian glared at Kurt for a moment before dropping his gaze. “Fine,” he grumbled, pulling his wallet out of his pocket. “I’ll give you one of my credit cards, but you’ll have to shop after work. No more time off.”

Kurt snatched the credit card that Sebastian had taken out of his wallet. “I’ll work in the morning and take the afternoon off.”

For a minute, it looked like Sebastian was going to protest, but eventually he sighed. “Fine. If you finish all the work I give you tomorrow, you can have the afternoon off. To buy _appropriate men’s clothing_. And then you will come to this gala with me and give a convincing performance, and then hopefully we will never have to speak of this again.”

Kurt, convinced that he had managed to turn this deal around to work in his own favor, nodded in agreement. “That seems fair.”

-

“He… asked you to pretend to be his fiancé?” Blaine asked Kurt in disbelief later that evening. They had just sat down to eat dinner together before Blaine got back to work on his Clinical Psych paper.

“I know it’s a little weird,” Kurt admitted. “But-”

“Kurt, it’s more than ‘a little weird,’” interrupted Blaine. “It’s incredibly inappropriate for a superior to ask this of you.”

Kurt sighed. “I know that. _Obviously_ I know that. But it’s not exactly surprising, is it? This guy has asked me to do so many crazy things.”

“All the more reason to report him to HR,” Blaine reasoned. “Kurt, he treats you terribly. You’re overworked, you have crazy hours, and this man has no respect for you.”

“True, but the paycheck…”

“Is really not as important as your well-being,” insisted Blaine. He reached across the table to take Kurt’s hand in his. “We got along fine before you got the raise, you know. I just… want you to be happy, and you seem so stressed lately.”

Kurt smiled and squeezed Blaine’s hand. They had been seeing so little of each other lately that it was easy to forget how sweet and protective Blaine was. It felt nice to be reminded.

“I’m happy,” Kurt assured him. “Stressed, too, but I am happy. My boss is not my favorite person in the world, but he’s Charles Smythe’s nephew, so I doubt reporting him to HR would do much good.”

Blaine sighed. “That’s probably true.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Kurt said, giving Blaine’s hand another squeeze before letting go so they could both continue eating. “I’ll have leverage against him now.”

“Also true,” said Blaine with a smile. “Is the ring nice, at least?”

“It’s not bad,” Kurt admitted. “I’ll show you when we’re done eating. It looks expensive.”

“It must be nice to have so much money that you can throw it around like that to impress your fake fiancés.”

Kurt shrugged. “Rich people are weird.” He thinks it’s the most important lesson he’s learned from working at _La Chance_. 

“I’ll drink to that,” Blaine said, lifting up his glass of Diet Coke. “Here, here!”

Kurt laughed. “But not as weird as you,” he added as he raised his own glass to clink against Blaine’s. 


	3. Chapter 3

Before Kurt left work the next day, he stopped by Sebastian’s office to go over some details about Saturday.

“I’m sending a car to pick you up around seven,” Sebastian explained. “And if anyone asks, all you need to know is that we met in May and we got engaged in September.” 

“We got engaged after four months?” Kurt asked. 

“Yes, it was love at first sight or something. It’s a very romantic story.” 

Kurt perked up. “Is it?”

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Sure, why not? No one’s going to ask for any details, Kurt.” 

“They might,” Kurt insisted. 

“Look,” said Sebastian, frustrated, “I told you, all you need to know is that we got together in May and got engaged in September. Those are the only dates I ever mentioned.” 

“But how did we meet? Am I supposed to tell them I work here? Because if they know I’m your assistant…”

That made Sebastian pause. “Don’t tell them you’re my assistant,” he said after a minute. “But don’t lie, just keep it vague. Say you work at a fashion magazine, but don’t say it’s this one. And only mention it if someone else brings it up first.” 

“What if they press me for details?” asked Kurt. 

“We’re not going to be spending hours with them or anything, OK? Just saying hi and moving on. I promise you, your job is basically just to stand next to me all night and wear a ring. This is not rocket science.” 

“They might ask how we met,” Kurt countered. “People always want to know that. Or how we got engaged.”

Sebastian sighed. “We met through mutual friends. We got engaged… I don’t know. At a fancy restaurant or something. They won’t ask that.”

“How do you know?” Kurt cried. He’s quite sure that Sebastian is not putting enough thought into this. “People care about stuff like that.”

“Don’t you have shopping to do? I gave you a credit card and said you could buy clothes, I can’t believe you’re still here.”

“Don’t be an asshole,” Kurt said. “I’m doing this as a favor to you, you know. I just want to make sure it’s believable.”

“We could sit here all day and try and go over every possible situation that could arise,” Sebastian pointed out. “It’s pointless. If they ask us a few things, we’ll figure it out.”

“But-”

“You’re annoying me, and I have stuff to do.”

“Fine,” Kurt grumbled, grabbing his bag from the table. “I can’t wait til this all blows up in your face.”

“It won’t,” Sebastian insisted. “Not unless you screw it up. Just make sure you’re ready by seven tomorrow, okay? And maybe try and get your boyfriend to fuck you before then. You seem like you need to get laid. I really think it would help.” 

Kurt slammed the door on his way out. 

-

“Definitely sexual harassment,” Rachel affirmed the next afternoon when Kurt told her about what Sebastian had said. 

“Yeah.”

“You could report him to HR,” she suggested. “For… any number of things, really.”

Kurt sighed. “That’s what Blaine said. Can you maybe… not tell him about this?” Kurt knew it was an odd request. He didn’t keep the details of his life from Blaine, ever. There had never been a reason to.

“Why?” Rachel asked with a frown. 

“He was upset about the engagement thing, and I’m a little bit afraid that he’ll march into Sebastian’s office and start yelling at him.” _And maybe a tiny bit afraid that he won’t_ , he thought. 

“It would be romantic, though,” mused Rachel. “I don’t know why you just don’t quit if it’s so bad. I bet I could get Thom to hire you to do something for his theater company!”

“Because that will help me get ahead in the fashion world?”

“Because Thom won’t say inappropriate things to you or ask you to pretend to be his fiancé,” she countered. 

Kurt sighed. “It’s… not as bad as it seems? I mean, he’s a terrible boss, and he’s rude, and inappropriate, and I work a _lot_ -” 

“So much that you and Blaine had to change your holiday plans,” Rachel cut in.

“But it’s not very hard work. And the money is great.”

“And you get to go to fancy galas.”

“And I get to go to fancy galas,” Kurt echoed. “I know I _shouldn’t_ have to deal with this, but… it works for me, right now. I’ve dealt with so much worse.”

“Well,” Rachel said, “If he does start making you uncomfortable, you should quit. And tell me, so Thom can get you a job. And also Blaine, so he can go beat that guy up.”

That was too much for Kurt. “I don’t need your boyfriend to save me. I don’t need _my_ boyfriend to save me. I can take care of myself, Rachel.”

She didn’t look at all apologetic. “You brought it up, not me.”

“I was talking to you as a friend. I didn’t ask for your advice on who I should contact if I want everything to be magically fixed. I’m _fine_.”

“You just seem like you’ve gotten in a bit over your head,” Rachel said, shrugging. “I’m sorry. I know you can take care of yourself.”

Kurt’s phone rang then, and Rachel excused herself. “Have fun at your gala,” she said as she picked up her purse. 

“Thanks,” he said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He picked up his phone from the table and saw that it was his father calling. “Hey, Dad.”

“Hey, kid,” his dad greeted. “I wasn’t expecting to catch you, actually, I thought I’d just leave a voicemail.”

“It’s nice to talk to you, too,” Kurt joked.

His dad laughed. “Hey, it’s Saturday, I figured you’d be doing something with Blaine.”

“Not today. I’m going to a charity gala with my boss in a few hours.”

“Oh, yeah? That sounds fun.”

“It will be glamorous, if nothing else,” Kurt said. Lots of rich people in very fancy clothes.”

His dad laughed. “Right up your alley, then. Too bad you have to go with your boss, though. He must be awful, from the way you talk about him.” 

“He’s not so bad,” Kurt replied. He hadn’t even realized he talked about Sebastian that much. “I’m sure it will be a good time.” Though Kurt hated lying to his dad, he decided it probably wasn’t a good idea to mention that he was going to the gala as Sebastian’s fake fiancé. “Anyway, how are you? How’s Carole?” 

“We’re good. Finn and Kayla are driving us a little crazy arguing about the wedding plans, but other than that, everything’s great.”

“I still can’t believe that I am the best man and yet I have no input at all in the planning of this wedding,” Kurt huffed.

“She has four sisters,” Burt pointed out. “You never had a chance.”

“True,” Kurt sighed. 

“Hey, at least we know the bachelor party will be classy.”

Kurt laughed. “I don’t know about _classy_. It’s Finn’s party, I won’t plan something he’s not going to like.”

“I’m sure he’ll appreciate that.”

“And so will everyone else there,” Kurt added. “Sadly, I doubt any of Finn’s friends know how to appreciate an elegant get-together.”

“Ah, probably not,” Burt agreed. “Anyway, I was calling to check the date of your flight home for Christmas. I wrote down the 22nd, but Carole thought you said the 20th.”

“Oh,” Kurt said. “I actually meant to call you about this, but I completely forgot. The flight was the 22nd, but we’re a little behind at the magazine, so I will probably have to work on the 23rd as well.”

“It’ll be hard for you to change your flight so late,” said Burt, sounding disappointed. 

“Sebast- uh, my boss, his name is Sebastian, he took care of it already.” It hadn’t been easy to convince Sebastian to do it, but he was desperate for people to work on finishing the next layout before so many people took vacation. Kurt had only agreed after he was promised revised travel accommodations. “Blaine and I have a really early flight out on Christmas Eve. I’ll email you the flight details later. I think it gets in around 8:30 a.m.”

“And you’re still leaving the 26th?”

“Yeah, that evening.”

His dad sighed. “That’s not a very long visit.”

“Well, having a job is different,” Kurt explained. “I don’t get a month-long semester break anymore.”

“I know that. I just miss ya, that’s all.” 

“I miss you too, Dad.”

“Is Blaine OK with only staying two days?”

“Yeah, his parents aren’t even going to be home,” Kurt explained. “He’s going to go LA with them to visit Cooper the first week in January.”

“You’re not going?” 

“I don’t think I would even if I had the vacation time,” Kurt said. “He handles his parents much better when they’re not spending all of their time wishing I would disappear.”

Burt made a sympathetic noise. “Well, I better let you get on with your gala preparation, eh? Carole and I are headed out for a late lunch.”

“OK,” Kurt replied. “I’m glad you called.” Blaine entered the room then, his bag in hand, looking ready to walk out the door. Kurt held up a finger to indicate he’d only be another minute.

“I’m glad you picked up,” his dad said. “We hardly get to talk anymore. I can’t wait until Christmas.”

“Me either,” Kurt said, smiling. “Bye, Dad.”

“Bye, Kurt.”

“How’s your dad?” asked Blaine.

“Good,” Kurt replied. “He was just asking about the flights for Christmas. Are you heading out already?”

“Yeah, we have a long night ahead of us.”

“Well, have fun,” Kurt said, leaning in to give Blaine a kiss. 

“You too. I hope you’re still up when I get home so I can see this fabulous outfit you bought.”

Kurt grinned. “I’ll see what I can do.”

-

As the afternoon wore on, Kurt became more and more nervous. Sebastian’s assertion that Kurt was the only one capable of blowing their cover kept running through his head. Sebastian had just seemed so _sure_ that he wouldn’t screw up. Kurt had no such confidence. Despite his dreams of performing in high school, he had very little actual acting experience, and he wasn’t sure if he would be able to convincingly fake being madly in love with a guy who, in reality, he didn’t care for much at all. He didn’t even _know_ Sebastian terribly well. Kurt also had not had the opportunity to take his boss’s “get your boyfriend to fuck you” advice. He was beginning to think it might have actually helped.

By 6:30, Kurt had taken out the gin. 

Drinking was not a coping method he normally employed, but he figured a few shots might serve the dual purpose of calming his nerves and convincing people that he was happy instead of terrified. 

At 7:05, he got a text from Sebastian. **_Car’s outside. Don’t forget the ring._**

Kurt used his thumb to feel for the ring, already in place on his left hand. He took one last look in the mirror to admire his tux, then walked out the door.

He was surprised to find Sebastian leaning against a black sedan on the street in front of the building. 

“Took you long enough,” Sebastian said, yanking open the door to the back seat and gesturing for Kurt to get in. 

“It has been literally 30 seconds since you texted me,” Kurt replied as Sebastian climbed in after him and shut the door. 

“I told you seven. You should have been waiting outside.”

Kurt considered this. It was probably true. He hadn’t even known Sebastian would be with the car, and he hadn’t even thought about how he would know it was time to go. “You look nice,” he offered by way of apology. Sebastian did look good. He always looked well put-together, but tonight he had on a sleek black tux and his hair was carefully styled. 

Sebastian gave Kurt a quick once-over. “You’ve looked worse. I was expecting you to wear something much more ridiculous.”

“It’s a good tux,” Kurt agreed. It felt good to have some semblance of approval from Sebastian. This gala was different than anything he had attended with Tia. At more fashion-oriented events, he had been able to wear more outrageous things, but tonight was a more formal black tie situation. “Wait ‘til you see the bill.” In reality, he doubted the bill would upset Sebastian at all. Kurt had always had an eye for bargains, and he had managed to find a great deal yesterday as well. He probably would have bought this even if he had been forced to use his own funds. 

“Why do you smell like gin?” Sebastian asked. “Have you been drinking?”

Kurt couldn’t come up with a good answer to that. He blamed the gin. “Um…”

“Wonderful,” said Sebastian. “Do you drink before work often?”

“Oh, relax,” Kurt snapped. “I only had a few shots. And this isn’t work, this is a charity gala.”

“Which you are attending in exchange for payment in the form of vacation days,” Sebastian pointed out. “It’s work for you. How are you supposed to concentrate when you’re drunk?”

Kurt frowned. “I’m not drunk. I just needed to relax a little bit. This will make my performance better, I promise.”

Sebastian didn’t look convinced. “You’re going to screw this up.”

“Your faith in me is touching,” Kurt replied. “It’s giving me a lot of confidence, thank you.”

“You know,” Sebastian said, “All I asked you to do was put on a tux, wear a ring, and let me drag you around a gala for a few hours.”

“And pretend I’m in love with you,” Kurt added.

“I should have expected that you would put the same amount of effort into this task as you do with every other one I give you.”

Kurt glared at him. “I tackled this assignment with my usual gusto, yes.” 

Sebastian mumbled something that sounded like, “We’re doomed.”

Kurt chose to ignore him. “So,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting you to be in the car that picked me up.”

“Well, if we arrived separately, it would look pretty suspicious,” Sebastian explained. “It’s not like I _wanted_ to take a trip out to Brooklyn and see the disgusting shack you live in.”

“At what point are you going to transition from your normal asshole self into my loving fiancé?” asked Kurt. “I want to be prepared so I won’t die from shock.”

“That might be better for both of us, actually,” Sebastian said. “If you die, there’s no way you can fuck this up for me. And I’ll get sympathy, too.” He paused. “Clearly, I’ve been going about this the wrong way.”

Kurt kept quiet for the rest of the ride.

-

As soon as the car pulled up to the hotel where the gala was taking place, Sebastian became a different person. He climbed out of the car first and then took Kurt’s hand and pulled him out as well.

“You never know who might be watching,” Sebastian said when he noticed Kurt’s hesitation. 

“Right,” agreed Kurt, shaking his head in a vain attempt to clear the smug, rude Sebastian from his thoughts and replace him with the new Sebastian, who had a genuine-looking smile and kind eyes. 

The ballroom was gorgeous. It took a lot of effort for Kurt to stop himself from snapping a picture of one of the chandeliers to send to Rachel. Taking a picture could possibly attract attention to them, and he didn’t want that. He was feeling nervous enough with no one watching them. Kurt did send Rachel a quick text about how overwhelmed he was by the chandeliers, the flowers, and the guests in their formalwear. He knew this gala would impress her, even with the ritzy events she’d been attending lately with her rich, well-connected boyfriend. Kurt considered sending the message to Blaine as well, but decided not to bother him while he was studying. They had made plans to hang out later that night, anyway.

Rachel texted back almost immediately, demanding pictures. Kurt snorted, and Sebastian gave him a questioning look.

“Sorry,” Kurt said. “I thought about taking a picture to send to Rachel, but decided I shouldn’t, and then she asked for pictures…”

Sebastian’s mask faltered for a minute and a look of agitation replaced the warm smile. “Could you maybe _not_ spend the whole night texting your friends? This is an event to raise money for underprivileged kids, not a sorority party.”

At that moment a waiter came by to offer them a glass of champagne from his tray.

“Yes, thank you,” Kurt said, helping himself.

“Darling,” Sebastian said, smiling sweetly. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Kurt returned his smile. “Yes, _sweetheart_ , it’s a wonderful idea. Thank you for being so concerned for my well-being, though.” He turned to the waiter. “Isn’t my fiancé the _sweetest_?”

Sebastian didn’t stop smiling, but he did take a glass of champagne.

-

Kurt spent the next half hour being dragged around the ballroom by his arm. Sebastian introduced him to dozens of people. It almost seemed like he was showing him off. Kurt had no chance of remembering all of the names he learned that night, mostly of board members or friends of Sebastian’s uncle. Every introduction was quick. _Hi, nice to see you again, this is my fiancé, hi, pleasure to meet you._ It was easy. Kurt thought they were doing a good job. No one questioned whether or not they were actually engaged. However, the short meetings, while good for keeping up their charade, were not conducive to Kurt’s plan of networking with people who might help get his designs seen. 

“Hey,” Sebastian said, tugging at Kurt’s arm after introducing him to some board member’s wife. “Game face. Jonathan’s on his way over.”

Kurt couldn’t help but laugh. “Game face? Really?” 

“Don’t fuck this up,” Sebastian hissed. 

“Well, _darling_ ,” Kurt said, “I’ll try not to, but I don’t even know who Jonathan is.”

“He’s the board member I was telling you about. The one who was really instrumental in getting me the job, the guy who I…”

“Won over by lying about having a fiancé,” finished Kurt. “Right, got it.” This was the one meeting he’d have to get right. 

They were interrupted by another voice. “Sebastian! I was hoping I’d see you tonight.”

Sebastian’s grin returned. “Hey, Jonathan,” he said, reaching out to shake his hand. “Enjoying yourself?”

Jonathan, a middle-aged man with heavily gelled gray hair and thick glasses, smiled. “Of course, of course, I always love these charity events. Good for the soul!” He turned to Kurt. “Is this the fiancé?”

“It is,” Sebastian confirmed. “Jonathan, this is Kurt, Kurt, Jonathan.”

Knowing that this was the most important introduction of the evening, Kurt felt even more nervous than he had before. He conjured up the memory of how he had felt back in the days when he was so convinced that Blaine was going to be his husband, then smiled and said, “It’s nice to meet you,” as he shook Jonathan’s hand.

“Oh, the pleasure’s all mine,” Jonathan insisted. “Sebastian’s told me a lot about you.”

“Nothing bad, I hope!” Kurt said.

“Only the most wonderful things, I assure you,” replied Jonathan. “Oh, Xavier, darling,” he called to a man standing a few yards away. “Come here, I want you to meet some people.”

Xavier appeared slightly younger than Jonathan, and his eyes were mostly hidden under a mop of hair that had clearly been carefully styled to appear unruly. When he reached them, Jonathan put his arm around Xavier’s waist.

“This is my husband, Xavier, and this is Sebastian, Charles’s nephew. He’s the editor-in-chief at _La Chance_ now. And this is Sebastian’s fiancé, Kurt.”

After they all greeted each other and shook hands, Xavier grabbed Kurt’s hand to examine his ring.

“I love it,” he announced. “Isn’t it wonderful when your man is rich?”

Kurt wasn’t sure how to react to that, but the other three men laughed, so he joined in. 

“I kid, of course,” Xavier continued. “When’s the wedding?”

Kurt gave Sebastian a panicked glance, but Sebastian wasn’t looking in his direction. 

“We haven’t picked a date yet,” he told Xavier, “But we’re thinking June.”

“Ah, a summer wedding,” said Jonathan. “Ours was in July.”

“It was dreadfully hot,” Xavier added. 

“But we just couldn’t wait a moment longer.” Jonathan smiled at his husband. Kurt already felt bad for lying to the couple, and he had hardly said a word.

“I know the feeling,” Sebastian said, giving Kurt a small smile. _Jesus_ , Kurt thought. _How is he so good at this?_

“Awww!” cried Xavier. “I have to say, Sebastian, from what I’ve heard about you from your uncle, I never imagined you’d be settling down so young! What are you, 25?”

“Twenty-five, yeah. And clearly my uncle doesn’t know me very well,” Sebastian replied, his voice cold.

If Xavier and Jonathan noticed the shift in Sebastian’s mood, they didn’t show it.

“So how did you guys meet?” Xavier asked.

Kurt froze. He couldn’t remember if they had discussed this or not.

“Through mutual friends,” Sebastian said, having regained his composure as quickly as he lost it. “It’s not a great story, sadly.” He looked over at Kurt with a smug smile. Kurt guessed it was meant to make him feel stupid for wanting to rehearse answers, when they came so naturally to Sebastian. Kurt couldn’t understand how someone so intolerable could even possess the ability to act so charming. This could be a valuable asset for Sebastian at work. 

“Oh, they usually aren’t,” said Jonathan with a laugh. “I met Xavier here at a fruit stand.”

“So,” Xavier said, turning his attention to Kurt. “How did he propose?”

Kurt didn’t have an answer to the question, despite being so convinced that someone would ask. “Well, he, uh…”

“It wasn’t a huge event,” Sebastian cut in. “Nothing too special, I just took him to his favorite restaurant and-”

“Oh come on, Sebastian,” Kurt interrupted. He was overcome with the sudden urge to wipe that smug look off of Sebastian’s face. “Don’t sell yourself short.” He grinned at Xavier. “He actually took me up to the observation deck of the Empire State Building. He’s sort of obsessed with _Sleepless in Seattle_ , so he thought it would the most romantic place. You know, since Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan got engaged there.” 

Kurt didn’t even bother to look over at Sebastian. He could _feel_ the glare. 

“Kurt’s just messing around,” Sebastian said.

“Oh, he hates when I tell this story!” said Kurt, laughing.

“I mean, they didn’t even get engaged at the Empire State Building,” Sebastian continued. 

Kurt shrugged. “You would know!”

Xavier and Jonathan were both laughing. “You guys are _too_ precious,” Xavier cooed. “Aren’t they adorable, love?”

“They are,” agreed Jonathan. “Now, if you gentlemen will excuse us, we’re going to go take a look at the silent auction. It was wonderful to meet you, Kurt.”

“The pleasure was all mine,” Kurt replied. 

Once the four of them had traded goodbyes and shook hands again, Sebastian grabbed Kurt’s arm and pulled him to a more deserted area of the ballroom.

“What the fuck was that?” he hissed. “Are you trying to screw this up on purpose, or are you just that drunk?”

Kurt, who was really starting to feel the second glass of champagne he’d grabbed while Sebastian wasn’t looking, just laughed it off. “Relax, Sebastian. They loved it! They think we’re _adorable_.”

“It was going fine. You made it ridiculous.”

“Your stories were just so _dull_ ,” Kurt argued.

“Dull is good,” insisted Sebastian. “Dull is believable.”

“You sound like you could use another glass of champagne.”

“And you sound like a lush,” Sebastian replied. 

“Driven to alcoholism by my overbearing fiance,” Kurt cried, throwing his arms up. “And I had _such_ potential.”

Sebastian looked amused, but before he could comment, they were interrupted by an older man that Kurt didn’t remember being introduced to. 

“Sebastian,” the man said with a heavy French accent. “How wonderful to see you here.”

Sebastian’s smile disappeared immediately. “Hello, Uncle Charles. I didn’t know you planned on attending this evening.”

The man shrugged. “My plans changed. Who’s your friend?”

“This is Kurt Hummel. He’s my fiancé. Kurt, this is my uncle, Charles Smythe. He owns _La Chance_.”

Kurt smiled and held out his hand, trying very hard to appear more sober than he actually was. 

“Yes, Jonathan did mention something about a fiancé,” Charles said, giving Kurt a once-over, but ignoring his outstretched hand. “I didn’t believe him, of course, but now I understand.”

“I’m sorry,” Sebastian said, “But what exactly do you understand?”

“Well,” Charles started, “You can convince people to do pretty much anything if they are drunk enough.” 

Kurt assumed this meant he had failed in his quest to look sober. “I’m sorry, the champagne was a bit stronger than I expected,” he explained. 

“Don’t apologize, please,” replied Charles. “I understand how difficult it can be to tolerate my nephew.” 

Kurt tried to argue. “That’s really not-” 

“It was nice seeing you, Uncle Charles, but we really need to get over to the silent auction and put down some bids,” Sebastian interrupted, grabbing Kurt’s arm. “Have a nice evening.”

“Of course. Enjoy your… date, Sebastian. I look forward to our meeting after the holiday to discuss your progress.”

After Charles walked away, Sebastian pulled Kurt across the ballroom. Kurt assumed they were headed back toward the area with the silent auction, but instead, Sebastian led him out the ballroom door and into the lobby. 

“I’m so sorry,” Kurt said as they approached the main stairway. “I honestly didn’t think it would be a problem, I just wanted to-”

Sebastian looked puzzled. “What are _you_ sorry for?”

“Uh, being so drunk that your uncle could tell from, like, a mile away? I didn’t mean to make you look bad.”

Sebastian snorted. “My uncle would have been an asshole even if you’d been polite, charming, and completely sober - all of which you are not actually capable of being, apparently. We don’t exactly get along,” he explained, sinking down onto the bottom step.

“Yeah, I noticed,” Kurt replied, taking a seat next to him. “Did something happen between you two?”

“No, he hardly knows me. It has more to do with my father than me, actually. It’s just… a whole lot of ridiculous family drama, you don’t want to hear about it.”

Kurt bumped Sebastian’s shoulder with his own and asked, “You think I don’t want to hear about family drama? Do you know me at all?”

Sebastian laughed. “I don’t even really know the whole story myself. They had a falling out a long time ago. My uncle’s always hated me.”

“But if he hates you, why would he give you this job?”

“I told you, that was mostly Jonathan’s influence. And he doesn’t want the world knowing there’s any animosity, so it would look odd if I never got offered any job once I had my MBA. He gave all of my older cousins jobs.” Sebastian ran his hand through hair roughly. “Of course, they all got cushy, no-effort jobs, and I’m stuck being fucking editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine, when I know nothing about journalism or fashion. He’s waiting for me to fail.”

Kurt was surprised to hear Sebastian admit his lack of experience. He had never heard Sebastian be anything but confident in his abilities to run the magazine. “You really think he’d risk one of his magazines just to embarrass you?”

“I think he’s mostly trying to embarrass my dad,” replied Sebastian. “And he’s not really risking the magazine. I was hired on a trial basis. I have until June to prove that I can do it.”

Kurt knew Sebastian wasn’t doing a great job as editor-in-chief. He micromanaged, kept people too busy with pointless tasks to get any real work done, took no suggestions from anyone, and all of the employees despised him. They still had a week before Sebastian’s first official issue came out, but Kurt knew it wasn’t likely to impress anybody. He figured Sebastian also knew all that, but decided to ask to avoid hurt feelings. “And it’s not going well?”

Sebastian turned to look at Kurt with narrowed eyes. “Are you kidding? It’s a mess. You know that.”

“I was just trying to be polite,” Kurt muttered. “How come you took the job, if you knew it would be so difficult? You don’t even seem interested in this stuff, and obviously you don’t need the money.”

Sebastian was silent for a moment. “Well, I needed a job if I wanted to stay in New York. And I wanted to prove him wrong.”

“Well,” Kurt said brightly, “luckily, it’s only December. You’ve still got six months. And, hey, if you feel like you’re really not going to be able make it work, you can always use the time to completely destroy the magazine in every way you can. Turn it into, like… a magazine for cat ladies!”

Sebastian laughed. “I might have to resort to that,” he admitted. “Though, with my luck, _Cat Lady_ magazine would be a hit, and I’d still be fired.”

“Hmm, Kurt said, tapping his chin. “Yes, you better keep the cat lady idea to yourself. You can start it yourself if you get fired.”

“Yeah.”

Kurt had already started to congratulate himself on managing to cheer up a guy he barely knew and didn’t like at all when he noticed that Sebastian’s smile had disappeared again. He was chewing on his lower lip and glancing at the ballroom doors.

“We should go,” Kurt said.

“Go where?” 

“I mean, we should leave,” he clarified. 

Sebastian shook his head. “We can’t leave. We just got here.”

“We’ve been here for at least an hour. You made an appearance, saw tons of people, showed off your _fabulous_ fiancé-”

“My drunken mess of a fiancé,” Sebastian corrected, but his lips had started to curve upward again.

“And you already paid the eight billion dollar per plate entrance fee. So we’ll hover over the silent auction stuff for a few minutes and pretend like we’re bidding, and then we can get the hell out of here.”

Sebastian considered the proposition.

“Come on,” Kurt wheedled. “Admit it’s a good idea.”

“I suppose you do have them sometimes.”

“Ha, ha,” Kurt said, standing up. He tugged Sebastian’s arm to make him do the same. “Come on, let’s go fake bid on that trip to Paris that Mrs. Whatshername was talking about.”

Sebastian allowed himself to be pulled up. “Why would I even look at a a trip to Paris? My parents live there, and their mansion is much nicer than any hotel over there.”

“We’re considering Paris for our honeymoon,” Kurt said, pulling Sebastian away from the staircase. “And _obviously_ we will not be staying with your parents for that.”

-

The ride back to Brooklyn was silent. Sebastian had ignored all of Kurt’s attempts at conversation and was moping, all of his attention focused on staring out the window. Kurt stopped attempting to cheer him up. His goodwill toward Sebastian had faded along with his buzz, and he just wanted to get home, drink some water, and go to bed. When the car pulled over in front of Kurt’s building, he took off his ring and offered it to Sebastian.

“Here, I won’t be needing this anymore.”

Sebastian shook his head. “Keep it.”

“I don’t want it,” Kurt replied.

“Sell it, it’s not engraved or anything,” Sebastian suggested. “Just keep it for a little while longer first, in case I need you to do this again.”

“I’m not doing this again.”

“Right. Good night, Kurt.”

“I’m _not_ ,” he insisted, stuffing the ring into his pocket as he got out of the car. When Sebastian didn’t reply, he slammed the door and headed inside his building.

It was a bit past 10 p.m., but neither Blaine nor Rachel were home. He considered texting Blaine to see if he knew about what time he’d be getting back, but thought better of it. It wasn’t that late, but Kurt felt exhausted, and he just wanted to get some sleep.

When he was changing into his pajamas, the ring fell out of his pocket and rolled across the floor. Kurt had to get down on his hands and knees to retrieve it from underneath the bed. After dropping it back into the manila envelope Sebastian had given him, he tucked the envelope in the bottom drawer of his nightstand. He hoped he’d have some free time in the next week to get the ring appraised, sold, and out of his life forever.


	4. Chapter 4

The break-up came when Kurt least expected it.

He knew that he should have been prepared. The distance between them had been growing for months, and it only got worse after Christmas. Blaine had fewer classes in his spring semester, but he was doing an independent study experiment and working on his thesis, which meant that he pretty much lived at his university’s library. Kurt, for his part, had been spending even more time at the office after hearing about Sebastian’s predicament. Even though their relationship had not really changed after the charity gala, as Sebastian had immediately regressed to his usual rude, overbearing, closed-off self, Kurt sympathized with him. Kurt knew what it was like to face opposition and want to prove the world wrong. He didn’t want Sebastian to fail. 

Kurt’s help, of course, went mostly unappreciated by his boss. Sebastian was moodier than ever on their late nights in the office, struggling to meet deadlines because so many people had quit. There were always new hires in the office, so fresh on the job that they could hardly find the restrooms without help. By the time spring rolled around and the magazine was about to release its fourth issue since Sebastian had taken over, it had become clear that his job was in trouble. Readership was down, the company’s stock had dropped, and Kurt had even heard that a late night talk show host had used Sebastian’s failure as the punchline to a joke during his monologue one night. It was bad, but Kurt tried to remain optimistic. He loved a good underdog story, and, if nothing else, Sebastian was working hard. If effort was all that was required to be the editor of a magazine, Kurt had little doubt that Sebastian would be amazing at it. Unfortunately, it seemed to require a bit more, and Kurt doubted all of his late nights and weekends at the office were going to help Sebastian succeed in the end. Blaine never complained, though, as he was so busy himself, so Kurt saw no reason to stop. 

For a while, Kurt actually _had_ been anticipating a break-up. He and Blaine barely even texted each other anymore. It was becoming painful. They had to talk about the state of their relationship, but it still felt too difficult to bring up. Kurt spent most of February mentally preparing himself for the inevitable. Blaine’s grad school acceptance letters would be coming soon, and Kurt figured that would be a good time to discuss it. If Blaine wanted to go to school in California, Kurt would have to end it. He couldn’t move across the country for a relationship that hardly seemed to exist anymore. If Blaine decided to go to school in New York, though, maybe they could work on it. Talk it out, try to fix things, spend more time together. The grad school decision would finally force them to deal with this.

Blaine’s grad school decision came and went with little fanfare, though. He had gotten into most of the schools he applied to, and he and Kurt never even sat down to have a discussion about it. 

“There’s no sense in moving all the way across the country when I got into my top schools here,” Blaine said one morning as Kurt was on his way out. “I just have to decide if I’d rather go to Adelphi or Columbia.” 

And that was it. It wasn’t until the decision had been made that Kurt realized that he’d really, really been hoping that Blaine would want to go to California. They could have talked, and maybe broken up, and Kurt wouldn’t feel like it was all his fault. The blame could belong to both of them. But Blaine chose to stay, and Kurt was a coward. He resigned himself to maintaining their current relationship, and envied Rachel’s blooming romance, Finn’s conviction that he’d found the one he wanted to be with forever, and even Sebastian’s carefree anonymous hook-ups. Kurt felt trapped, locked up in a flimsy prison of his own creation, where the key was within reach but he was too scared to take it. 

Blaine was the one who let him out, in the end. 

It was a Friday in late March, a few weeks after the two of them had last discussed Blaine’s grad school options. For the first time in weeks, Kurt arrived home by six, and he had been looking forward to a relaxing evening alone at home. When he entered his apartment, trying to decide which of his bath salts to use later, he almost didn’t notice Blaine sitting on the couch. The TV wasn’t on, and he wasn’t using his laptop. He was just sitting there in silence.

“Hi,” Kurt said, surprised. “You’re home early.”

“Yeah, well… my spring break just started, so…”

“Oh, right!” Kurt was embarrassed that he hadn’t remembered, but tried to brush it off. “God, that really snuck up on me. Can you believe it’s almost April?”

“Yeah,” Blaine agreed. “Time’s really flying.” The silence stretched on until it became uncomfortable before Blaine spoke again. “Um, I was hoping we could talk tonight? If you don’t have any other plans…?”

“I’m free, yeah,” Kurt replied. It was clear that this conversation was not going to be a pleasant one, and Kurt was starting to get nervous. “Is, uh, is everything OK?” he asked as he joined Blaine on the couch.

Blaine considered the question. “Well… I wanted to talk about our plans for next year.”

Kurt thought this had already been decided. “Isn’t the plan that you’re going to go to school, and I’ll be working?”

Blaine looked away. “Yeah, of course. I just… I actually got another acceptance letter this week, and-”

“Is it one of the California schools?” It came out a bit too eager for Kurt’s liking, but after weeks of being resigned to a future he was increasingly sure he did not want, he couldn’t help it. If Blaine asked him to move to California, that would be a perfectly acceptable reason to discuss a separation. 

“No, actually, it’s the University of Wisconsin.”

Kurt frowned. “Wisconsin? You didn’t apply there.”

“Yeah, I did,” Blaine replied, cocking his head in confusion. “I told you about the professor there who’s doing all that gender research?”

That part did sound vaguely familiar, but Kurt was certain he would have remembered Blaine mentioning a school in _Wisconsin_. “I really don’t think we talked about this, Blaine.”

“We did,” Blaine insisted. “I know you didn’t pay much attention to anything I said about grad school, but-”

“That is _not_ true,” Kurt shot back.

Blaine looked stung. He hadn’t sounded accusatory when he spoke, and Kurt knew he had overreacted.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “I just… I only remember New York and California.”

“It wasn’t a secret,” Blaine said. “I didn’t talk about it as much as the others, because I knew you’d never go for it, but… you were the one that mailed the applications, Kurt. I wasn’t trying to hide anything from you.”

Kurt breathed deeply, and tried not to sound as betrayed as he felt. This was not the way he had expected this talk to go at all. “Why did you apply if you knew I wouldn’t move to Wisconsin? Did you think you could convince me? That I would just pack up my life and move someplace where I’d have no hope of advancing my career at all?” Kurt waited for an answer, but Blaine averted his eyes. Kurt could tell he was on the verge of tears, and that’s what sparked the realization. “You… don’t want me to move with you, do you?” He didn’t need to hear Blaine’s reply to know it was the truth.

Blaine took a steadying breath. “I… look, I applied there because I liked the program a lot, and I thought it was worth a shot, in case we were broken up by now.” 

The knowledge that Blaine had been thinking about them breaking up since the fall was hard to take. _God, it was probably even earlier than that_ , Kurt thought. Blaine had started looking into grad programs early in his junior year.

“You thought we would be broken up by now,” Kurt finally said, his voice flat.

Blaine sighed. “I… thought it was a good possibility, yes. And I assumed you were thinking the same thing.”

“But you never asked!” Kurt knew he had no right to complain, but things were in motion now that he was pretty sure could not be stopped, and he was panicking. This is what you wanted, he reminded himself. _It’s happening, just not exactly how you planned._

“Kurt,” Blaine pleaded, “please, I don’t want to fight, I just-”

“You just want to break up,” Kurt snapped. 

“I’m trying to be honest. I don’t think either of us have been doing a very good job of that lately. Can you be honest with me, please? You didn’t seem thrilled with the idea of me going to school in New York, either. Tell me, _honestly_ , what you want.”

The only answer Kurt could think of was _Not this_. He felt tears forming in his eyes, and he really did not want to cry right now. “I don’t know, exactly.”

Blaine took Kurt’s hand. “What I know is… you are so important to me.” Kurt opened his mouth to protest, but Blaine continued before he could. “You are, stop it. It’s just… this, right now, is not working for us at all, and we’ve let it go for so long, and… at this moment, I just cannot see much of a future for us.”

It was a feeling Kurt could relate to. “I don’t think about marrying you anymore,” he finally admitted. “I try to, and I actually _can’t_. I was hoping you’d decide to go to a school in California so I’d have an excuse to end it. I didn’t know how to bring any of this up at all.” The tears had started falling, but Kurt was too upset to be embarrassed by them. 

“Me neither,” Blaine replied. “I… “ He paused to sniffle. “At first, I thought maybe I could go to Wisconsin and you could stay here, but we wouldn’t have to break up. And it didn’t seem like it would be hard at all, because, really, how different would it be? That’s… that’s when I knew that we had to do something. Because when we were apart for a year, it was like torture, and now I’m thinking about not living in the same state as my boyfriend for five years.” Blaine paused. “I always thought this was about the time we’d be getting engaged.”

“Me, too,” whispered Kurt. 

“Look, Kurt, if… if I’m wrong about this, if you think that we could maybe.. work on it, I still have about three weeks to make a final decision. And I could stay, you know, we could… try.”

Kurt knew this was his out. Blaine was giving them both the opportunity to cling to the monotony that they had been dealing with for so long, instead of being brave and moving on. Kurt was tempted. 

“I think,” Kurt started after a moment, “that if we could fix this, or… _wanted_ to fix this, we probably would have tried already.”

Blaine let out the breath he was holding. “So…”

“So… you should go to Wisconsin,” Kurt said with a weak smile. “If that’s what you want. I have no idea what you’re going to do there for five years, but…”

Blaine let out a shaky laugh. “Me neither,” he admitted. “A lot of studying, I guess.” He let go of Kurt’s hand. “I, uh… I actually have a flight home tonight. I thought it would be good if we were just… apart, for a while, you know?”

“Oh,” Kurt said, surprised. The last he had heard, Blaine was spending his spring break in New York. 

“Yeah, and then when I get back next week I can pack my stuff. I think Jen and Ryan might let me stay with them, just until the end of the semester, so…”

“You’re moving out?” asked Kurt. “You… you don’t need to do that, Blaine.”

Blaine raised an eyebrow. “You want to share a bed with me? Even though we’re broken up?”

Kurt hadn’t thought about that. With all of the break-up thinking he had done, this had somehow never come up. He had just assumed that they would agree to stay together until the lease was up in August. “I guess not. But one of us could room with Rachel. I mean, she’s hardly ever here these days. Or there’s the couch…”

“We can call that a last resort,” Blaine said, amused. “I’m going to keep paying my part of the rent, I swear, I just-”

“It’s not about money,” Kurt insisted. It hurt that Blaine would think that.

“I know that,” Blaine replied quickly, his eyes wide. “Of course I know that. I just don’t want to leave you guys high and dry. I agreed to pay until August, and I’m going to. But living here would be… weird, now. I’d rather stay with friends until graduation, and then I’m going to go back and stay with my parents over the summer.”

_He had this all planned out_ , Kurt thought. A flight, moving plans. How long had Blaine been preparing for tonight? When Blaine left the apartment 10 minutes later, holding a suitcase that had been pre-packed and waiting in their bedroom, he didn’t stop to kiss Kurt. Even when they were at their most distant, neither of them had ever left the other in the apartment without a kiss. Blaine had just given him an awkward wave and said he’d see Kurt next week. Kurt had mumbled his own goodbye and waited for his tears to start falling again, but it didn’t happen. He felt angry, sad, and a little betrayed, but above all else, he felt _relieved_. The horror that he had felt looming in the distance for so long was over. The weight was lifted, and Kurt could breathe easy again. 

_Lilac bath salts_ , he decided. _Definitely._

-

It didn’t really hit Kurt until the next morning, when he woke up alone. He had woken up without Blaine before, of course, but never with the knowledge that this was the new normal. He wouldn’t be waking up next to Blaine anymore, ever. From now on, Blaine would wake up at his parents’ house, at his friend’s apartment, somewhere in Wisconsin, alone, or with men that weren’t Kurt. Never again would Kurt wake up to find himself trapped under Blaine’s protective arm, or their legs tangled together, or Blaine’s dick pressing against him. Kurt would never feel Blaine’s dick again in any situation, actually.

It was a dangerous line of thought. Kurt managed to get out of bed and head into the bathroom to brush his teeth, but the sight of Blaine’s extra toiletries derailed him again. All of this stuff will be gone soon. The shaving supplies, the hair gel, maybe even the beautiful coffee table in the living room. Blaine had bought it, after all. 

_This is what you wanted_ , Kurt reminded himself again. _It will just take a little getting used to._

The morning wasn’t even over before Kurt was back in bed, unable to control his sobs. He had left his phone in the kitchen, hoping to avoid the desperate call he’d considered making to Blaine, to say he’d made a mistake, they’d both made a mistake, this was stupid, they should really try to work on this, because when Kurt thought about how Blaine was never going to kiss him again, it made him want to die.

At some point in the early afternoon, Rachel crawled into bed with him. 

“Why didn’t you call me last night?” she asked, wrapping her arms around his chest.

Kurt sniffled and buried his head in her neck. “I was OK last night. How did you find out?”

“Blaine left me a very tearful voicemail in the middle of the night,” Rachel explained. “I feel terrible, I didn’t even check my phone until a few hours ago.”

“He’s upset?” Kurt had spent an embarrassing amount of time that morning picturing Blaine skipping town with a big smile on his face, so glad to finally be free of his awful, career-obsessed boyfriend. It felt good to know that was not true.

Rachel pulled back a bit and stared down at Kurt, shocked. “Are you _kidding_? He’s a mess. Of _course_ he’s a mess. I could barely understand most of the voicemail, honestly. He seemed a little bit calmer when I called him a little while ago, but…” She bit her lip. “I’m so sorry, Kurt. Do you think it’s… permanent?”

Kurt and Blaine had never been the type to break up and get back together again. Despite a few major fights that led to days of silence between them, they had never even threatened to end the relationship before last night. 

“Yeah,” he said. “It’s… we both wanted to break up, I just…” His tears were now back in full force. “I feel like it will take years to get used to not being with him.”

“Baby, it will not!” Rachel exclaimed, hugging him tight to her chest. “You’re going to be fine, and way sooner than you think!” Kurt started to protest, but Rachel continued. “You are one of the strongest people I know, OK? Of course today sucks, but tomorrow will be better.”

But Sunday _wasn’t_ better. Rachel stayed home with him all day, having a _Grey’s Anatomy_ marathon and eating takeout, but Kurt couldn’t take his mind off of the Blaine-less future that lay before him. 

When Kurt’s alarm went off on Monday, he didn’t think twice before sending Sebastian a text saying he wouldn’t be coming in. Kurt spent most of the day on the couch, trying to come up with reasons why he was taking a break-up he had _wanted_ so hard. He ended up settling on the shock of it all. Somehow, he had never expected Blaine to be the one to end it, and especially not after saying he was going to grad school in New York. Kurt just hadn’t been ready. In his own visions of their separation, they had stayed together until Blaine moved, enjoying their last months together and ending on good terms. In hindsight, Kurt knew it seemed overly optimistic, but it bothered him that Blaine had sprung this on him so suddenly. Blaine had known, a few days ago, when they kissed goodbye in the morning, that it would probably be the last kiss they ever shared. Blaine had known that and said nothing, and Kurt had been left clueless. It wasn’t fair. 

That night, Kurt changed his relationship status on Facebook to ‘single’ and tried very hard not to feel guilty about not warning Blaine beforehand. He deserved the surprise after what he’d done to Kurt, after all. The texts started coming in almost immediately, and Kurt sent out another text to Sebastian to say he wouldn’t be coming in the next day, either, before shutting off his phone to avoid discussing his failed relationship with all of his nosy, well-meaning acquaintances. 

When Kurt turned his phone back on the next afternoon, he had a ton of missed calls and texts. He ignored the texts and scrolled through the calls, deciding that only Finn was important enough to get a response today. If he told Finn that he was OK, then Finn could tell his dad and Carole, and Kurt could get back to wallowing in peace. He took a seat on the living room couch and braced himself.

“Kurt!” Finn exclaimed when he picked up the call. “Hey, you’re… hey!” 

“Hi,” Kurt replied, hoping he didn’t sound like he’d spent the last three days crying. “You called?” 

“Yeah, yeah, I… well, you know, I heard about you and Blaine, I just wanted to make sure you’re OK.” 

“I’ve been better,” Kurt admitted. “But I’ll be OK.” 

“I can’t believe it, though,” Finn said. “You guys have been together _forever_ and you never fought.” 

“Hey, can we not talk about this?” 

“Oh, right, of course. Sorry.” Finn was silent for a minute. “So did you cheat on him?” 

“What?!” 

“Well, I can’t think of another reason that… wait, did he cheat on you?” Finn asked. “I mean, he’s my friend and all, but I can totally go kick his ass if he cheated on you. He did, didn’t he?” 

Kurt let out an exasperated sigh. “No one cheated, Finn. People _do_ break up for other reasons. It just… hadn’t been working for a while.” 

“You seemed OK at Christmas,” Finn said. It sounded like an accusation. “You weren’t fighting.” 

“We weren’t,” agreed Kurt. “Look, Finn, as shocking as this might sound, I don’t actually want to go over all the details of my painful break-up right now. I just wanted to let you know I’m OK. Can you tell my dad and your mom? I don’t really have the energy to talk to everyone right now, and I’m sure they’re worried.”

“I’ll tell them, yeah,” Finn assured him. “I, uh, had another reason for calling though.”

“Oh?” 

“Yeah.” Finn sounded nervous. “Kayla was wondering, you know, with the break-up and all… well…”

“Spit it out, Finn,” Kurt demanded.

“She wanted me to make sure that he can still be in the wedding,” Finn replied. “Because, you know, it’s totally cool if you don’t want him there, but it means I have to find another groomsman to replace him, and there’s only a few months…”

Kurt had completely forgotten that Blaine was meant to be a groomsman at Finn’s wedding. Blaine had been so flattered by the offer and agreed months ago. Finn and Blaine had become pretty close in the years that Kurt and Blaine were together, and Kayla had a lot of bridesmaids to keep up with. It occurred to Kurt that his family’s reaction was another thing he had never considered when thinking about this break-up. He wondered if Blaine had ever thought about it, or if he’d been just as focused on the end result as Kurt had been.

“Don’t kick him out of the wedding,” Kurt said after a minute. “Or uninvite him, or anything. It’s fine.” 

Finn seemed unsure. “Yeah? You’re sure it won’t be too awkward? I mean… what if one of you brings a date?” 

“I doubt either of us will have an actual date.” At this point, Kurt can’t _ever_ picture having an actual date again. “And it’s three months away, it will be fine,” he continued, attempting to sound more confident than he felt. “We didn’t fight or anything. There won’t be any drama.” 

“Well, if you’re sure…” 

“I’m sure,” Kurt said. 

“Oh, good,” Finn replied. “It would suck if he didn’t come. He’s like… part of the family.” 

“Yeah… look, you’ll have to talk to him yourself, but I’m sure he’ll still want to come.” Kurt was pretty proud of himself for having this conversation without crying, but he wanted to make sure it was over before he lost his composure. “I have to go, OK? I’m busy.”

“Really?” asked Finn. “‘Cause Rachel said you haven’t gone to work since Friday.” 

_Traitor_ , thought Kurt. “Since when do you talk to Rachel?” 

“Since you broke up with your boyfriend and then started ignoring everybody,” Finn replied. “We were worried. Speaking of Rachel, though, do you know who she’s bringing to the wedding? Because she RSVPed for two people, and I didn’t know she had a boyf-” 

“Goodbye, Finn.” Kurt ended the call, too emotionally exhausted to give Finn another lecture about the stupidity of his decision to invite every single member of New Directions to his wedding. Who invites the ex-fiancée they no longer speak with to their wedding? It was the worst idea Kurt had ever heard, besides Rachel actually _agreeing to go_. 

“Hey, Rachel?” Kurt called. Though she had stopped hovering quite so much, Rachel had still been spending far more time than usual at the apartment. “Are you actually making your wonderful boyfriend travel to Ohio with you to attend your ex-fiancé’s wedding?”

Rachel poked her head out of her bedroom. “We were _invited_ , Kurt.”

“He’s already being weird about you bringing a date. Do you have any idea how awkward this is going to be?” 

“Well,” Rachel said, “they shouldn’t have invited me if they didn’t want us to come. Do you know how upset I’d be if I _didn’t_ go and then there was an impromptu New Directions reunion performance? Not that it would really count without me, but-”

“There will be no glee club performance at this wedding,” Kurt assured her.

This did not dampen Rachel’s enthusiasm. “You don’t know that, Kurt. I’m sure everyone would be easily swayed.”

“Do not plan a number and bring sheet music.” The quick flash of guilt on Rachel’s face convinced Kurt that he had figured out her plan. “Seriously, Rachel, don’t. Kayla’s planning this wedding herself. How would you feel if your husband-to-be’s ex was planning stuff for your wedding without your knowledge?”

“It was just an idea,” Rachel huffed. “Like a gift for him, you know? I thought he’d like it.”

Kurt _knew_ that Finn would like it, and that was precisely the problem. He didn’t want to argue about the proper decorum around exes, though, so he he changed the subject. “Why did you tell Finn I haven’t been going to work?”

Rachel cocked her head to the side. “Because you haven’t been?”

“Well, my family doesn’t need to know that!”

“They’re just worried about you, Kurt,” Rachel said, leaving her doorway and flopping down on the couch beside him. “And you missing work is kind of a big deal. I don’t think you’ve ever done it before.”

He hadn’t missed work before. In fact, despite campaigning so hard for those extra vacation days to spend with Blaine when Sebastian had asked him to go to the gala, these were the first of them he’d actually used. 

“I’m going back tomorrow,” Kurt said. “I just… needed a few days. I’m fine now.”

“Of course you’re not fine,” clucked Rachel, leaning against him. “I think it’s good that you’re going back, though. You need to get out of the apartment, focus on something else.” 

-

Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy as that. Kurt did manage to get to work the next morning, but he hadn’t been able to summon the energy to get back into his normal morning workout and primping routine. He considered it a miracle that he arrived to the office, showered and dressed, only five minutes late. 

“Sorry,” he said, pushing the door to Sebastian’s office open. “I got a bit of a late start today.” It wasn’t until he started trying to hand Sebastian the macchiato he always bought him in the morning that he realized he hadn’t actually stopped to get one that morning. “Shit, sorry. I, uh, I didn’t have time to go to Starbucks, but I’ll run downstairs and grab you something from there, OK?”

Sebastian just glared at him. “So you finally decided to show up to work, then?”

Kurt frowned. “Well, yes. Obviously.”

“You haven’t been here since Friday,” Sebastian growled. “You decided to randomly stop coming to work the week of our May issue’s deadline.”

“I have the time to use,” Kurt argued. 

“Well, you certainly picked a really fucking convenient week to do it.” 

Kurt honestly had not even stopped to think about the May deadline when he had decided not to come in. “We agreed that all I had to do was text you. And I did.”

“And then you ignored every single text and phone call from me after,” Sebastian said. “I was nice enough not to bother you this weekend, because you worked all last weekend, but on Monday, you should have been here.”

“I… had things to do.”

“What I don’t understand,’ Sebastian started, “is why you would even _bother_ spending all that time helping me put this issue together if you were just going to screw me over in the end.”

“Why do you take everything so personally?” Kurt asked. “My whole life does not revolve around this job, you know. I have oth-”

“Save it,” Sebastian said. “Go get me a macchiato. And not from downstairs. You might want to get yourself something loaded with caffeine, too, because you’re not leaving until this issue is ready to be put to press.”

“I… Sebastian, this really had nothing to do with you,” Kurt sputtered. “It was an ill-timed… life event, and I… it couldn’t be helped.” Tears were threatening to spill down his face again, and Kurt had really hoped to avoid crying at work.

Sebastian was quiet for a moment. “Did someone die?”

“What? No, nothing like that.”

“Then I cannot imagine what could have been so important.”

Kurt let out a shaky sigh. “Blaine and I broke up on Friday.” He hadn’t wanted to discuss this at work, and figured it would be weeks before he was forced to own up to it. He wasn’t sure what Sebastian’s reaction would be, but he expected some form of awkward sympathy.

He definitely was not expecting Sebastian to laugh at him.

“You missed two days of work because you broke up with your boyfriend,” Sebastian said after a minute, shaking his head. “My god, are you in middle school?”

“We were together for six years,” Kurt replied after taking a minute to compose himself. He knew if he started crying in here, Sebastian would never let him live it down. “It’s a pretty big deal.”

“Your job is a pretty big deal, too,” Sebastian pointed out. “But not as big of a deal as _my_ job, which is on the line here, in case you forgot while you were crying over your pathetic love life.”

“I should have expected you to react this way,” Kurt said, shaking his head. “You never care about anyone but yourself.”

“Me keeping this job affects you, too, you know. If I’m fired, who’s to say they’ll keep you around? God knows you’re not good at your job.”

“Fuck you,” spit Kurt. “I have worked my ass off trying to help you keep this job, and the least I deserve is a few days to deal with losing the person I thought I was going to marry. I know it must be hard for someone as cold and heartless as you to understand, but-”

“I’m done talking about this,” Sebastian interrupted. “I have absolutely no interest in your relationship melodrama. Maybe if you weren’t such an annoying drama queen, your boyfriend would have stuck around longer.”

“Maybe if I hadn’t been forced to work so many hours trying to help out my completely incompetent boss, I would have been able to save my relationship!”

Sebastian laughed. “Oh, _darling_ , you’re right. I am certainly to blame for the demise of your perfect six-year relationship with some guy I’ve never met. In fact, I took this job _just_ so I could destroy your life. I am just _so_ cold and heartless that I can’t bear to see anyone else happy.” When Kurt didn’t reply, Sebastian continued, all traces of amusement absent from his voice. “No one ruined your ridiculous fairy tale romance but _you_. Go work out on the floor today, you look like you haven’t showered in days and I don’t really care to stare at you all day.”

“I showered this morning,” was Kurt’s weak argument.

“Congratulations. Now get out. I’ll send you an email letting you know what I need you to do.”

Kurt barely made it to his cubicle before the tears started falling. He had hoped that going back to work would be a good distraction, not just a new backdrop for his emotional breakdowns. Arguing with Sebastian _really_ had not been part of his plan, and now he felt guilty for ditching him during an important week, and attempting to blame him for his own relationship problems. Maybe Kurt hadn’t been ready to come back to work yet.

When Sebastian called Kurt back into his office a few hours later, Kurt had barely made a dent in the long list of tasks Sebastian had included in the email. He wasn’t able to stop crying long enough to get his face looking acceptable, so he hadn’t even gotten around to leaving the office to get Sebastian his macchiato. Much to Kurt’s surprise, Sebastian had eventually gone out to get it himself without complaint.

“You’re useless today,” Sebastian said when Kurt entered his office, but the venom that was in his voice earlier was gone. “You haven’t gotten anything done.”

“I’m working on the-” Kurt started, but Sebastian held up a hand.

“Just go home. Take the rest of the week.”

Kurt was shocked. “The rest of the week? I don’t… I don’t need that. We need this done by Friday.”

“I’ll get it done. You’re not helping at all by being here, you’re a mess. Just come back Monday in your normal, human form.”

“Sebastian…”

“Don’t argue with me.”

“You can’t force me to use my vacation time,” Kurt countered. “I might need it for-”

Sebastian smirked. “For your next soul-crushing break-up? I won’t tell anyone, OK? You don’t have to use your vacation time. Go home, Kurt. Relax. Fuck a stranger. Whatever you need to do. Just be back here on Monday ready to do more than cry at your desk.”

After Kurt had mumbled his thanks, he left the office and returned home. That night was still rough, and he ended up crying alone in his bedroom while watching _The Notebook_. Most of Thursday was spent shopping, because there was really no terrible situation that could not be at least slightly ameliorated with a little retail therapy. He bought more clothing than he should have, probably, with his unstable job and the higher rent in his future with one fewer roommate, but he did feel better when he laid all of his new purchases out on his bed.

_These are my new, Blaine-free clothes_ , he thought as he admired them. _And I will not cry about that._ He didn’t cry, but he did go for a three mile jog, and that night when he went to bed, he felt slightly more human.

On Friday, Santana appeared at his apartment, despite not having talked to him in at least a year.

“We’re going to Atlantic City,” she explained. “Our hobbit friend told me you needed to get out.”

Kurt assumed she meant Rachel, not Blaine. “I don’t want to go to Atlantic City,” he argued, even though it didn’t actually sound like a bad idea. 

“Shut up and pack. Rachel will be back soon, and the three of us are going to have a wonderful single ladies’ weekend.”

Kurt frowned. Rachel had Thom, and Santana, as far as he knew, was still dating Danielle. “But none of us are single ladies.”

Santana rolled her eyes. “Damn, I was hoping the reason you were so boring had something to do with Blaine, but no such luck, I guess. Why do you have to ruin everything? Go pack, princess. This weekend is going to be amazing.”

Surprisingly, Santana was right. He did have a good time with her and Rachel, getting drunk, relaxing on the beach, playing ridiculous themed slot machines, and ordering room service up to their hotel suite, which Kurt had a strong suspicion that Thom had paid for. They returned to New York early on Sunday, and Santana had planned to spend the day with Kurt while Rachel stayed home to wait for Blaine and help him pack up his stuff. 

“Let me know when he’s gone?” he asked Rachel as they dropped off their luggage at their apartment. It wasn’t that he was angry with Blaine, or never planned on seeing him again, but that day just felt too soon if he intended to maintain the tenuous grip on normal, functioning personhood he had regained in the past few days. 

“I will,” she promised.

Before he left the apartment, Kurt stuck a post-it note on the coffee table that said **_I look so great with the carpet here, please don’t take me until the lease is up :(_**. 

When he returned home, there was a new post-it stuck to the coffee table, written in Blaine’s handwriting. **_The nice man said you can keep me forever! :D (He doesn’t have your eye for interior decorating, unfortunately.)_ ** Kurt couldn’t help but smile. 

That night, he set his alarm for five a.m. Tomorrow, he and Sebastian would start working on the June issue of _La Chance_ , and Kurt was not going to be late.


	5. Chapter 5

Throwing himself into work turned out to be a pretty effective way for Kurt to deal with his break-up. The release of the May and June issues did little to help the magazine’s sales, and Kurt could still not imagine a way that Sebastian would be allowed to keep his job once his trial period was over, but he was enjoying himself. After the first week of mourning his relationship, Kurt managed to keep his mind off of it most of the time. In fact, he rather enjoyed being completely on his own and having no one to check in with. With Blaine gone and Rachel spending most of her time with Thom, Kurt could spend as much time working as he wanted, with no feelings of guilt.   
  
Sebastian, who had noticed Kurt’s new enthusiasm for work, had become even more demanding of his time. It was no longer unusual for Sebastian to call Kurt to discuss business outside of work hours.   
  
“I’m going to be at work in, like, 20 minutes,” Kurt told him one morning in the middle of May, trying to cradle the phone between his ear and shoulder so he could reach his wallet. “Can’t this wait?”  
  
“If it could wait, I wouldn’t have called,” Sebastian replied.  
  
“Yeah, well, I’m at Starbucks, about to order your stupid drink, so hold on a second.” Kurt smiled up at the young, shaggy-haired barista that he’d become familiar with in the past few months. “Hi, Nate, I need a venti iced coffee and-”  
  
“A venti caramel macchiato,” Nate finished, grinning. Kurt had not yet been able to determine if the guy was flirting him with him or just overly friendly, but he was good-looking and polite, so Kurt didn’t worry about it too much.  
  
“Yep,” Kurt replied. “Do you hear that, Sebastian?” he asked into the phone. “Even Nate knows your order.”  
  
“How wonderful for Nate,” Sebastian answered. “I can’t help but notice you’re ordering a drink for yourself as well, so maybe it’s time you stop bitching about how you have to go out of your way.”  
  
“I don’t usually order a drink,” countered Kurt as he handed over his money. Nate raised an eyebrow at him, and Kurt smiled, lifting a finger to his lips to indicate that Nate should keep quiet about this little white lie.  
  
Sebastian snorted. “Riiight.”   
  
“I don’t!” Kurt insisted as he took his change back from Nate and gave him a wave before heading down to the end of the counter to wait. “It’s just unseasonably warm today, so I’m treating myself. Anyway, what’s the big emergency?”  
  
Sebastian sighed. “We need a new five page feature for July.”  
  
“What? Why?”  
  
“Because Mallory quit.”  
  
“Well, you did spend most of yesterday’s staff meeting making fun of her outfit,” Kurt pointed out.  
  
“To be fair,” said Sebastian, “I had no idea she was actually at the meeting.”  
  
“She was sitting right next to you!”  
  
“And therefore was mostly out of my field of vision,” Sebastian said. “Come on, Kurt, we work at a fashion magazine, you can’t expect to dress like that and _not_ be mocked. It was a disaster.”  
  
Kurt laughed. “It’s cute that you think you actually know anything about fashion.”   
  
“I don’t need to know anything about fashion to know that was a mess,” insisted Sebastian.   
  
Kurt didn’t argue further. It _had_ been a mess, honestly, but Sebastian didn’t need any more encouragement. His behavior toward _La Chance_ ’s ever-shrinking staff was deplorable. “Well, whatever, what does that have to do with needing a new feature? Can’t someone else just finish it?”  
  
“It was the feature on a new independent designer,” Sebastian explained. “It was Mallory’s friend, she was the one with the access. So now we have five pages and nothing to put on them.”  
  
“And a week and a half to get it done,” mused Kurt.  
  
“You catch on quick,” replied Sebastian. “I need you to start brainstorming. Now.”  
  
“Fine, fine,” Kurt said. Another barista slid the drinks over to him and he smiled in thanks. “Look, I have to go, okay? I can’t carry all this stuff and deal with your whining at the same time.”  
  
“Amateur,” remarked Sebastian. “I’ll see you a few minutes.”  
  
As Kurt left Starbucks, he racked his brain for new feature ideas. This shouldn’t have been in his job description as an editor’s assistant, and Kurt was sure that there would be meetings with the writers later in the day, but he really wanted to have _something_ to give to Sebastian when he arrived at work. No one else that worked at the magazine had any reason to go out of their way to help Sebastian, because no one else knew that he was trying desperately to keep his job. In fact, if they _had_ known that, they probably would be going out of their way to sabotage him. Sebastian probably deserved that, after all. Though Kurt had learned to tolerate and even enjoy his boss’s personality after spending so much time with him, the other employees had never been exposed to anything but Sebastian’s rudeness, incompetence, and constant demands.  
  
 _Maybe_ , Kurt thought, _we don’t need a whole new feature. Maybe we could just find a new indie designer._  
  
When the idea came to him, he stopped dead in the middle of a busy crosswalk. “Sorry, sorry!” he exclaimed to the people grumbling as they walked into him and then tried to make their way around. The idea was perfect, though: the new independent designer they featured could be _Kurt_.  He had a portfolio ready with tons of designs and a bunch of completed pieces, and there was no danger of him backing out at the last minute. Kurt had gone months without thinking much about furthering his design career, but he knew this could be the big break he was waiting for. _La Chance_ ’s sales were down, sure, but tons of people still read it, and just having his name and designs out there in a popular fashion magazine would give him _amazing_ exposure.   
  
If he weren’t holding two drinks, Kurt would have skipped the rest of the way to work.   
  
-  
  
“You’re going to love me,” Kurt announced as he entered Sebastian’s office a few minutes later.  
  
Sebastian looked up at him from his desk. “Why, do you actually have an idea? I’m shocked, Kurt.”  
  
Kurt passed Sebastian his macchiato. “I don’t _have_ to share my idea, you know,” he said.   
  
“You do,” replied Sebastian. “You’re my assistant, which means your ideas are my ideas. Unless they’re awful ideas.”  
  
“This is a good idea,” Kurt said, grinning. “A really good one.”  
  
“Well, out with it, then. We’re sort of on a deadline here.”  
  
“OK,” Kurt relented, pulling his chair over to Sebastian’s desk and sitting down. “So here’s what I thought. Instead of trying to come up with a whole new feature, we just run the up-and-coming indie designer thing.”  
  
Sebastian let out a frustrated sigh. “Were you not listening? That designer doesn’t want to do it anymore. Which is _ridiculous_ , because this is really amazing exposure. I can’t even imagine what Mallory told her that made her change her mind.”  
  
Kurt could think of many, many things that Mallory could have told her friend, but that was probably a dangerous road to go down. “I didn’t mean with the same designer. I know a really great designer who really wants to start his own label, and I think he would be perfect for this feature. He has a bunch of pieces made, and-”   
  
“Yeah? And he’d be willing to do it?”  
  
Kurt had been planning on a dramatic reveal that he himself was this really great indie designer, but it suddenly occurred to him that this could lead to lot of unnecessary mocking if Sebastian ended up not liking the designs. “Definitely, yes. He’s got a portfolio, I could have it here by the end of the day, so you can look at the designs, and make sure you’re OK with it before-”  
  
“Not necessary,” said Sebastian, waving a hand. “I trust you. If you say he’s good, I’m sure he’s good. Like you said, I don’t know much about fashion.”   
  
“Uh… right,” stammered Kurt. He had faith in his own work, but something felt wrong about publishing a feature on his own designs when the editor hadn’t even seen them. “But you should take a quick look anyway, right? Before anyone goes through the work of getting models, or…”  
  
“If you can have a rough version of the feature done by Thursday morning, I’ll take a look at it,” Sebastian said. “We can try and schedule a quick shoot for Friday.”  
  
“You want me to do the whole feature myself?” Kurt asked. In the past six months, he’d done a _lot_ of different jobs at the magazine, including writing a few very short articles, but a feature was a whole different story.   
  
Sebastian shrugged. “We’re short on time,” he explained. “All the writers hate me. It doesn’t have to be an award-winning piece, it’s mostly about the designs, anyway. If you can get one of the writers to do it, by all means, go for it. Otherwise, you can do it yourself.”  
  
Kurt knew that he should mention that the designs were his own, but the idea of having a whole five page spread on his work, self-penned, was too good to give up. Sebastian would find out on Thursday, anyway, when Kurt brought in the draft. If Sebastian didn’t want to run it, there was no reason to bring this up at all.   
  
“OK,” Kurt agreed. “I have to go… contact my friend, and talk to some of the writers.”   
  
“Yeah, make sure you get started on this right away. I’ll try not to bother you too much this week.”   
  
Kurt laughed. “Yeah, we’ll see how well that goes.”   
  
Sebastian grinned at him. “Go, go, get started. If we can pull this off, it’ll be a miracle.”  
  
-  
  
Kurt was working on the article that night when an email notification popped up on his desktop. He was surprised to find that it was an email from Blaine, since the two of them had not talked at all since the break-up. The subject like was ‘Graduation!’, so it didn’t seem particularly threatening, but Kurt had to brace himself before opening it, anyway.  
  
 _Hey, Kurt. I know it’s been a long time since we’ve talked, and this might be totally out of line, but I got my graduation tickets for next Saturday, and I still have a pair set aside for you and Rachel. I was just going to text Rachel, but I thought it would be better if I asked you about it personally. If you don’t want to come, that’s totally fine! I understand. It would be nice to see you before I leave the city, though, and I figured you might want to witness the culmination of my last four years of insanity. No pressure, though, seriously. I won’t really be able to hang out during the ceremony, but my parents and Cooper are coming into town, and we’re having a little family get-together at a restaurant after the ceremony, and I would love it if you and Rachel could come. I know Cooper misses you! I’m going to mail the tickets to you guys, but, hey, have I mentioned that there is no pressure? I’m sure Rachel would just love to drag Thom along if you’re busy or something. Anyway, I hope the job is still going well and your boss hasn’t driven you completely crazy yet. Maybe I’ll see you next week!_   
  
_Blaine_   
  
Kurt leaned back in his chair and sighed. The idea of seeing Blaine again was not nearly as unpleasant as it had been back in March, and Blaine was right - Kurt _did_ sort of want to want to see him graduate. Blaine had worked hard, and he was graduating with honors, and Kurt had been there through all of it, save the past two months. Finn’s wedding was less than a month away, anyway, so by skipping the graduation, Kurt would only postpone seeing Blaine by a few weeks. It seemed stupid not to attend. Though he had no desire to see Blaine’s parents, it would be nice to see Cooper again, at least.   
  
Blaine hadn’t asked directly for an answer, but Kurt sent a reply email nonetheless. In the email, Blaine had seemed nervous, and there was no reason to keep him waiting.  
  
 _Blaine,_  
  
 _Though I can’t fully speak for Rachel until I talk to her, I’m sure she blocked off that weekend months ago for your graduation. Barring a disaster, we should both be there to cheer you on. If you’re sure your parents don’t mind me being there, of course._  
  
 _Kurt_  
  
Kurt managed to force out a few more sentences in the article before another email notification popped up.   
  
_My parents will be their usual lovely selves, I promise (ha). Actually, now that we’re not together anymore, they probably will be a lot more pleasant. Silver lining? I’ll see you next week, Kurt :)_  
  
-  
  
By Thursday morning, Kurt had managed to finish a rough draft of the article and done some quick sketches to illustrate where the photos would go. Though he’d been forced to stay up all night to complete it, he was pleased with the end result. He was carrying his regular work bag, his portfolio, and the pieces he planned on featuring when he arrived at Starbucks.  
  
“You’ve got a lot of extra baggage on you today,” Nate said to him.   
  
“I do,” Kurt agreed. “Big day at work. I’ll have a venti caramel macchiato, please.”  
  
“Only ordering your boyfriend’s drink today?”  
  
Kurt was confused for a moment, wondering how the guy he only ever talked to while ordering coffee before work knew about Blaine. “My boyfriend?”  
  
“You usually order two drinks,” Nate explained.   
  
_OK, so he’s definitely flirting_ , Kurt thought. “No boyfriend,” Kurt told him. “The caramel macchiato is actually for my boss.”  
  
“Oh,” Nate said. “From the way you talk to him on the phone, I figured…”  
  
“God, no,” Kurt laughed. “He’s insufferable.”  
  
Nate grinned. “Good to know.” The pair smiled at each other for another minute before Nate seemed to realize that there was a line of people waiting behind Kurt, and rung up his order.  
  
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Nate,” Kurt said.  
  
“I look forward to it,” replied Nate.   
  
While waiting for Sebastian’s drink, Kurt allowed himself a moment to appreciate the fact that, for the first time in six years, a cute guy was interested in him, and Kurt was free to pursue that as far as he wanted to. It wasn’t that he had ever really _wanted_ to pursue anything with other guys, but having the option felt quite liberating. After hearing so many negative reactions from people about his break-up with Blaine, it was nice to hear someone be _happy_ that Kurt was single. Excited, even, and on a day after Kurt had pulled an all-nighter and was probably not looking his best. It felt pretty wonderful.  
  
This development helped ease the nerves Kurt had been feeling all week about the feature he had to show Sebastian that day, and by the time Kurt had arrived at the office, he was much more confident. His designs were great, and there was no way Sebastian would hate them.   
  
-  
  
In the end, the problem wasn’t that Sebastian disliked the designs. Sebastian, in fact, had not really looked at the designs much at all. Kurt was still pulling his pieces out of garment bags when Sebastian grabbed the article that Kurt had placed on his chair.  
  
“Wait,” Kurt said. “Look at the designs first, there’s no point in reading the feature if we’re going to-”  
  
“ _You_ designed these clothes?” Sebastian interrupted, staring down at the article. “The independent designer you want to do a feature on is _you_?”  
  
Kurt stopped unzipping the garment bag he was holding. “Uh… yeah. Surprise?”  
  
“I can’t believe this,” Sebastian said, dropping the article on his desk. “What is wrong with you?”  
  
“Look, it’s really not a big deal,” Kurt explained, trying not to sound nervous. “And I wrote this draft of the article, but I convinced Jordan to rewrite it if it’s going to the magazine, and he’s going to do the interview-”  
  
“The interview with _you_ ,” Sebastian cut in.  
  
“Well, yes. So it won’t be like I wrote an article about myself, you know?”  
  
“You can’t possibly think I’m going to run this,” Sebastian said, raising an eyebrow.   
  
Kurt frowned. “I don’t see why you wouldn’t. The designs are good, Sebastian, and we have a shoot planned for tomorrow. We could get this done in time.”  
  
Sebastian ran a hand through his hair roughly and shook his head. “Fuck, Kurt. I _trusted_ you.”  
  
“And I have a feature for you!” Kurt argued. “I didn’t _lie_ about anything.”  
  
Sebastian glared at him. “Oh, no, not at all. You only went behind my back so you could have a feature in this magazine that is _all about you_. Is this the only reason you’ve been helping me at all? Were you just waiting for a chance to weasel your shitty fashion school projects into the magazine?”  
  
Kurt was stunned by the accusation. “I’ve been helping you because it’s my _job_ ,” he growled. “I can’t believe you’d think that I would do this to screw you over.”  
  
“What else am I supposed to believe?” Sebastian demanded. “You worked on this all week and never thought it was important to mention that _you_ were the one being featured? You took advantage of my trust in you. You were counting on the fact that I wouldn’t want to see the designs until it was too late to come up with a new feature!”  
  
“I was not!” Kurt cried. “I was just nervous that you would hate them, and…”  
  
“And that I wouldn’t run a feature on your untalented ass, yeah, I’ve got that,” finished Sebastian. “God, I never pegged you for a cutthroat businessman who was willing to bring down other people just so you could get ahead.”  
  
“I… Sebastian, that’s ridiculous!” Kurt exclaimed. He was starting to panic. He hadn’t expected Sebastian to be _thrilled_ with the news (though part of him had been hoping that Sebastian would be impressed by the designs), but this strong reaction made no sense to Kurt. “I honestly thought this would be a good feature, and easy to do on short notice, since it only really involves me.”  
  
Sebastian was still glaring at him. “Yes, I’m sure you had my best interests at heart.”  
  
“I’m not saying it wouldn’t be good for me,” Kurt argued.  
  
Sebastian snorted. “Good is an understatement, don’t you think? You were trying to trick me so you could use this magazine to launch a designing career.”  
  
“I was _not_ trying to trick you,” Kurt insisted, but he knew the whole thing probably seemed very shady. “I didn’t think of it that way, I promise.”  
  
“Is there a reason why I should believe anything you say to me anymore?” Sebastian asked coldly.   
  
Kurt tried to come up with an argument, but couldn’t think of anything that could convince Sebastian that he hadn’t meant any harm. Kurt had thought that Sebastian knew him well enough to know that this was all just a misunderstanding. “Look, we won’t do this feature, OK? I’ll come up with something else, and-”  
  
“No,” Sebastian said. “You’ve had way too much power around here. You’re back on simple stuff, like picking up food and scheduling meetings and making interns cry. No more direct work on the magazine. I’ll find a new feature myself.”  
  
“But you only have a few days,” Kurt countered.  
  
“And whose fault is that?” Sebastian yelled. Kurt couldn’t remember ever seeing him this angry. It made _Kurt_ angry, too, to have so much venom directed at him. It hurt, knowing that Sebastian could lose faith in him so easily, especially without even bothering to look at the pieces or read the feature.  
  
“Fine,” Kurt finally said. “What do you need me to do today?”  
  
“Stay out of my way,” Sebastian replied. “Go work out on the floor, I don’t need you in here. I’ll let you know if I need something. And for God’s sake, get this shit out of my office.” He waved an arm, indicating the garment bags.   
  
Kurt had to bite his tongue to keep from shouting back as he gathered his belongings and left the office.  
  
-  
  
After that, Kurt and Sebastian didn’t talk for a week. The July issue got finished, somehow, but it was without Kurt’s help. He worked normal eight hour days. Sebastian’s demands were sent via email only, and were all simple administrative tasks or lunch requests. Kurt had known before that losing his job was a possibility if Sebastian got fired, but he was becoming increasingly sure that Sebastian would fire him before that even happened. For the first time since his college graduation, Kurt started searching the classified ads, submitting his resumé to any job posting that seemed vaguely related to his skillset.   
  
Rachel also picked that week to sit Kurt down and inform him that she planned on moving into Thom’s apartment when the lease was up in August. It wasn’t a complete shock, but the knowledge that Kurt would need to find a new place to live in the next few months was still difficult to take. He’d already lost his boyfriend, and he was about to lose his job and apartment, too.  
  
To add to his inner turmoil, Nate had been been flirting more and more. That itself was not an issue. Kurt enjoyed talking with him, and was very flattered by the interest. Thinking about where it could lead was scary, though. Kurt was sure Nate was going to ask him out any day now, and, while he hadn’t been discouraging Nate’s behavior at all, he still wasn’t sure if he was ready to go out with anyone.  
  
“Don’t be stupid,” Rachel admonished him when they discussed it. “He’s cute, right? I bet he’s cute.”  
  
“He’s cute,’ Kurt admitted. “But young.”  
  
“Did you say he was a sophomore in college? That’s legal, you’re fine.”  
  
“Rachel!”  
  
She rolled her eyes. “Just go out with him. You obviously want to.”  
  
“I don’t understand how it can be obvious to you,” Kurt said. “It’s not obvious to me. I sort of want to, but I really don’t think I’m ready to have a boyfriend right now.”  
  
Rachel snorted. “Who said anything about a boyfriend? I think you should sleep with him, not marry him.”  
  
“I don’t know why I thought it would be a good idea to ask you for advice,” Kurt said, letting out a sigh.  
  
“It’s because I’m always right,” insisted Rachel. “Look, everyone needs a rebound! Cute coffee shop guy can be yours!”  
  
“That’s disgusting,” Kurt told her. “I’m not going to use him like that.”  
  
“Oh, right,” Rachel said, laughing. “Because he _totally_ is thinking about marriage when he hits on you at Starbucks.”   
  
Kurt frowned. “He might be!”  
  
“Awww,” cooed Rachel, “you make such an adorable single person!”  
  
“I hate you,” Kurt said. “I really, truly hate you.”  
  
When Finn called later that day to tell Kurt that the plans for the rehearsal dinner had been finalized, he immediately noticed that Kurt was not in a great mood.  
  
“Are you OK, dude?” he asked.  
  
“I’m fine,” Kurt snapped. “You know, that’s all anyone ever asks me lately.”  
  
“Sorry,” apologized Finn. “You just seem… angry.”  
  
“I’ve got a lot of stuff going on. It’s a normal reaction. There’s nothing wrong with me.”  
  
“No, I didn’t mean… sorry.” Finn paused.   
  
Kurt sighed. “No, it’s not your fault, I’m sorry. I’m just having a bad day. Well, bad week. Work has been… difficult,” he explained, deciding to leave out his dating woes and Rachel’s future living arrangements.   
  
“Is your boss being annoying again?”  
  
Kurt snorted. “Annoying is an understatement. I swear, Sebastian has to be _the_ most self-centered asshole I’ve ever met. And that’s saying a lot, considering everyone we went to high school with.”  
  
“Uh… right.”  
  
“And he has these ridiculous delusions that everyone’s out to get him,” Kurt rambled. “Well, I guess that just goes along with the self-centered thing. Everything is not about him, you know? But he doesn’t get that.”  
  
“Yeah… that must suck,” Finn said, sounding uncomfortable.  
  
“God, I’m sorry,” mumbled Kurt. He had been embarrassed enough after ranting about Sebastian to both his father and Carole in phone calls earlier that week. “Let’s talk about something else. How are the wedding plans going?”  
  
“Good, I think,” Finn replied. “I’m not allowed to help too much, though, since the mini-golf thing, but Kayla’s sisters seem to have everything under control.”   
  
Kurt decided it was safer not to ask about ‘the mini-golf thing.’ “That’s good. Are you nervous at all?”  
  
“Not about the wedding, but, um… Puck’s been talking about the bachelor party plans, and…”  
  
“Don’t worry about the bachelor party,” Kurt told him. “I’m taking care of that.”  
  
“But Puck was saying it’s going to be at a strip club, and I just don’t think that’s the best idea, because-”  
  
“Puck is not planning the bachelor party,” Kurt interrupted. “You know that, right?”  
  
“I don’t know, man, he seemed pretty sure that it was going to be at a strip club.”  
  
Kurt couldn’t help but grin. He had enlisted Puck and Sam’s help to do some digging about what sort of party Finn would prefer, and had also told them it might be fun to mislead him about the actual plans.  
  
“It won’t be at a strip club,” he assured Finn. “ _I’m_ planning it. It will, of course, be an elegant and stripper-free gathering.”  
  
“Well,” Finn said, “It doesn’t have to be _too_ elegant.”  
  
“No, no it’s no problem,” Kurt insisted, trying not to laugh. Finn was too easy to wind up. “You deserve the best, and I _love_ planning fancy parties, you know that.”  
  
“Right, but…”  
  
“I have to get going, Finn,” said Kurt. “It was nice talking to you!”  
  
-  
  
On the morning of Blaine’s graduation, Kurt expected to be terrified. He hadn’t had much time to think about it since the fight with Sebastian, and he expected that the dread would hit him as soon as he woke up that Saturday. He felt good, though. A little nervous about what it would be like to see Blaine again, but mostly Kurt was happy that they would be getting this over with before the wedding. He didn’t want there to be any awkward moments that would take anything away from Finn’s celebration.   
  
The ceremony itself was fairly boring, but Kurt was thankful that it was inside a large theater. It was a pretty warm day, and his own graduation the year before had been held outside, which led to some unseemly sweating. Kurt and Rachel applauded politely for all of the graduates, and when Blaine’s name was called, Rachel whistled. Though Blaine whipped his head around to try and spot the culprit, they were too far from the stage to be spotted. They could tell Blaine was grinning, though.   
  
The two of them slipped out of the theater after the liberal arts portion of the graduation had finished, and agreed to meet each other in the lobby after they had both visited the restroom.   
  
It was on his way out of the bathroom that he thought he spotted Blaine in the sea of black robes. A second look proved that Kurt was correct. Blaine was standing on the other side of the lobby, clutching the arm of a tall, dark-skinned boy while they talked. Kurt had just worked up the courage to approach Blaine and say hello when he was stopped dead in his tracks. The man Kurt didn’t know had taken a step closer to Blaine and leaned down to give him a kiss. Blaine got up on his toes to meet the other guy’s lips, and Kurt remembered thinking _well, that guy is much taller than I am_ before he retreated into the bathroom.   
  
He stared into one of the mirrors for a few minutes, garnering some confused looks from the people he saw passing behind him. So Blaine had a boyfriend. Blaine had a boyfriend, which was completely allowed, of course, because it had been two months since they broke up, and it’s not like Kurt hadn’t been considering dating as well. It hurt, though, to see Blaine kissing someone else. Kurt had spent the past six years of his life assuming that Blaine would never kiss anyone else like that, and yet, here he was, at an event that Blaine had specifically invited him to, watching him kiss some stranger. A horrible thought hit him then: _What if this guy is included in the ‘family’ gathering Blaine mentioned? Did Blaine invite me here just to rub this in my face?_ It wasn’t like Blaine at all, but Kurt supposed it was possible that Blaine just had not considered how inappropriate that would be.   
  
When Kurt left the bathroom a few minutes later, he was grateful to find Blaine and his boyfriend nowhere in sight. He spotted Rachel across the lobby in their designated meeting place, but before he could join her, a hand grabbed his shoulder.  
  
“Kurt!” Kurt would recognize Cooper Anderson’s voice anywhere. “You came!”   
  
Kurt managed to force his lips into a smile before turning around to greet Cooper. “Hi, Cooper. It’s been a while!”  
  
“Too long,” Cooper agreed. “Did Blaine tell you I might be moving to New York?”  
  
“No, we, uh… we don’t talk as much anymore,” Kurt replied.  
  
“Right, right, of course,” said Cooper hurriedly, realizing his mistake. “Well, I got a role in a movie that starts filming here in a few weeks, and I think I might stay. I’ve never done Broadway, you know? I’d like to do a few theater roles.”  
  
“That’s… yeah, good luck with that,” Kurt said, attempting to sound sincere. Cooper was delusional, of course, but Kurt had always found it mostly endearing. “You’d be great.”  
  
“I would,” Cooper agreed. “And we’ll have to hang out, since Blaine will be off in Wyoming.”  
  
“Wisconsin,” corrected Kurt.  
  
“Right, Wisconsin,” Cooper said. “Hey, I really have to pee, but you’re coming to lunch with us, right? I’d love to catch up more.”  
  
“No, actually, I can’t,” Kurt told him. The idea of sitting down to a meal with Blaine’s new boyfriend made Kurt’s stomach twist into knots. He knew he couldn’t do it. “I have to do some work stuff this afternoon, but I wanted to stop by and see the ceremony.”  
  
“Oh, that’s too bad,” said Cooper, frowning. “I’ll give you a call when I’m back in the city, though, OK? We’ll grab dinner or something.”  
  
“Definitely,” Kurt agreed. “It was good to see you.”  
  
After they shared a quick hug, Cooper disappeared into the bathroom and Kurt crossed the room to join Rachel.  
  
“Took you long enough,” she huffed.  
  
“Sorry,” Kurt replied. “Look, I’m… I’m not going to go out to lunch with you guys. I can’t.”  
  
Rachel frowned. “You’re chickening out _now_?”  
  
“I’m not chickening out,” Kurt insisted. “But I just saw Blaine kissing this guy, and…”  
  
“Oh,” Rachel said softly. “You saw him with Indrajit.”  
  
The name was vaguely familiar to Kurt. “You knew he was seeing someone?”  
  
“Well,” Rachel started, “I don’t know if _seeing_ is the right word.”  
  
Kurt lets out a frustrated sigh. “You knew and you didn’t tell me?”  
  
“What would I have even told you?” she asked. “I don’t even know what’s going on with them, I just…” she trailed off. “I’m sorry, Kurt.”  
  
“It’s not… it’s not a big deal,” Kurt said. “He’s allowed to date people.”  
  
“He is,” agreed Rachel.  
  
“But now this feels weird. If that guy’s there with him, I don’t want to-”  
  
“Why would he invite you both?”  
  
Kurt shrugged. “I don’t know. Why would he pick me over his boyfriend, though?”  
  
“I really don’t think-”  
  
“I’d just rather not be there, OK? I’m sorry. I thought it would be all right, but I wasn’t really prepared for _that_.”  
  
“Yeah,” Rachel said. “I understand. I can, um… tell them you weren’t feeling well?”  
  
“I told Cooper I had to do something for work, actually, so you can tell them that.” Kurt was pretty sure that Blaine would see right through that excuse, but he imagined Rachel would eventually tell Blaine the real reason anyway. “Yeah, that’s fine. Um, tell him I was here, though? And that I said congratulations?”  
  
“I will,” she promised, pulling him into a hug.   
  
-  
  
Later that night, Rachel informed him that Indrajit had not been at the lunch.  
  
“It was just his family and me,” she said. “He seemed sad that you didn’t come.”  
  
“I’m sure,” Kurt muttered.   
  
“You’re being unfair,” she pointed out. “You totally want to go out with the cute coffee shop guy.”  
  
“But at least I feel _weird_ about it!”  
  
“And who says Blaine doesn’t feel weird?”  
  
Kurt frowned. “He certainly didn’t _look_ like he was having any inner turmoil.” He sighed. “Look, I’m seeing him in a few weeks for Finn’s wedding, anyway. It’s not like I’m going to avoid him forever.”  
  
“Do you need another hug?” Rachel asked.   
  
Kurt couldn’t help but smile. “I’m good, thanks.”  
  
Before he went to bed that night, Kurt wrote Blaine a quick email, deciding to be mostly forthcoming about his behavior.  
  
 _Blaine,_  
  
 _Sorry I couldn’t make it to the lunch today. I’m sure you figured out I wasn’t actually working. I saw you after the ceremony and I knew I wasn’t quite ready yet. I am sorry, though. Congratulations on your degree. I felt so proud watching you walk across that stage to get your diploma. I’ll see you in a few weeks._  
  
 _Kurt_  
  
 _P.S. If you talk to Finn in the next few weeks, feel free to drop ridiculously untrue hints about his bachelor party. Currently he’s convinced that Sam will be doing a striptease for everyone after an elegant $500 per person dinner._  
  
Kurt was afraid that Blaine would be angry with him for bailing on the lunch after agreeing to go, but the email he received the next morning helped alleviate his fear.  
  
 _Hey, I understand. I did say no pressure! I was disappointed not to see you, but you’re right, there’s always the wedding. I’m glad you came to the ceremony. I don’t think anyone helped me get through these last four years as much as you did._  
  
 _Blaine_  
  
 _P.S. Poor Finn! I sort of want to bring up circus animals, but I’m afraid he’d be too upset when that turns out not to be true…_  
  
-  
  
Five days later, Nate gave Kurt his phone number. It was awkward and sort of adorable, the way Nate had scheduled his break around Kurt’s arrival, walked him halfway to the office, and before Kurt had time to go over all the reasons it could be a bad idea, Nate had entered his number into Kurt’s phone.   
  
“I’m actually going to visit my parents upstate this weekend,” Nate explained, handing the phone back, “but I’ll be around next weekend.”   
  
“My brother’s getting married next weekend,” Kurt replied. “I’m flying out to Ohio on Wednesday, and I won’t be back in the city until the next week.” He scrolled to Nate’s name in his contact list and sent him a quick text so his number would be in Nate’s phone as well.   
  
“Oh,” Nate said, disappointed. “Are you free Tuesday night?”   
  
“Um…” Even though Kurt wasn’t leaving until Wednesday, he’d taken the whole week off from work. Still, Tuesday seemed so _soon_. The idea of leaving town the night after a date to give him time to work through his feelings was appealing, though. “Yeah, I think that would work.”   
  
Nate’s face lit up. “Great! I have to get back to work, but, um, we’ll work out the details on Monday?”   
  
“Yeah,” Kurt agreed. “That sounds good.”   
  
Nate hurried back down the street toward Starbucks, and Kurt spent the rest of his walk to work triumphantly exchanging texts with Rachel about finally embracing his desire for a rebound.   
  
-  
  
Unfortunately, Kurt’s rebound fling was doomed before it even began.   
  
On that Monday, Kurt’s first day of vacation, he received a text from Sebastian while still in bed. **_Please tell me you still have that ring._ **  
  
It took Kurt a minute to figure out what Sebastian was talking about. He had placed the engagement ring in his nightstand’s bottom drawer almost six months ago, and never gotten around to selling it. _**I have it. I can give it back to you next Wednesday, if you want.** _  
  
Sebastian’s reply was almost immediate. _**Come to the office right now. Make sure you bring the ring.**_  
  
Kurt sighed and pressed the call button on his phone. Sebastian was unbelievable. He had ignored Kurt for weeks and was now suddenly demanding that he come in on his day off. “I’m on vacation this week, remember?” he said as soon as Sebastian answered. “I’m not on call for all of your petty demands.”  
  
“Hold on a second, Kurt.” After a moment of mumbling to someone else, Sebastian spoke again. “Look, I know you’re not leaving until Wednesday. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”  
  
It was the first civil thing Sebastian had said to him in weeks, and that was what swayed him. Kurt didn’t actually have anything important planned today, so dropping by the office wouldn’t kill him. If it would make Sebastian despise him a little less, it was probably worth it. Kurt knew that Sebastian had overreacted about the independent designer feature, but he did still feel a bit guilty for lying about it. He wanted to make things right.   
  
“Let me guess,” Kurt said. “This isn’t just about me returning the ring?”   
  
“It’s more you wearing the ringthat I need,” confirmed Sebastian. “You owe me one, Kurt.”   
  
Kurt sighed. “So if I do this, you’ll stop treating me like shit?”  
  
“Yes, whatever you want, OK? Just get going.”  
  
“Fine, fine,” Kurt said. “So what’s going on? Is Jonathan in the office today?”  
  
Sebastian was quiet for a moment. “It’s something like that,” he said finally. “I can’t really explain right now, my lawyer’s waiting for me. We’ll talk when you get here. Be wearing the ring when you arrive, though, and just… go along with whatever I say.”  
  
-  
  
When Kurt walked through the door of Sebastian’s office, there was an unfamiliar woman in a suit sitting across the desk from Sebastian.  
  
“Kurt,” Sebastian said, standing up, “this is my lawyer, Cathy Wallace. Cathy, this is my fiancé, Kurt Hummel.”  
  
Cathy stood up to shake Kurt’s hand, but she immediately turned back to Sebastian. “Isn’t he also your assistant?”  
  
“Well, yes,” Sebastian admitted. “It’s slightly inappropriate, I know, but it’s not like it matters much now, right?”  
  
Cathy was frowning. “Mr. Smythe, if you aren’t _actually_ engaged, this is illegal.”  
  
Kurt was starting to worry about what was happening here. This didn’t seem anything like pretending to be engaged to please board members. How could that possibly be illegal?  
  
“But I _am_ engaged,” Sebastian insisted. His smile looked a bit wild. “Kurt, show her the ring!”  
  
Kurt held up his left hand and wiggled his fingers. Cathy did not look impressed.   
  
“We’ve been engaged for months,” Sebastian continued. “People know that. People saw us. There’s proof. This isn’t fake.”   
  
“Just conveniently timed,” remarked Cathy.   
  
“Well, Cathy,” said Sebastian, shooting an adoring gaze in Kurt’s general direction, “you never know when you’ll meet the love of your life.”  
  
“Right,” she said, still sounding unconvinced. “I have another appointment to get to, Mr. Smythe. I really think you should give this a bit more thought. There could be some serious consequences if-”  
  
“It’s not fake,” Sebastian interrupted. “So we don’t need to worry about any serious consequences.”  
  
“If you say so, Mr. Smythe. We’ll talk later this week?”  
  
“Yes, thank you, Cathy.” Sebastian shook her hand.  
  
“It was nice meeting you, Kurt,” she said on her way out.  
  
“You, too,” he replied, faking a smile. Once she was out of the office, Kurt closed the door and turned to Sebastian. “OK, what the hell is going on? You didn’t mention any illegal activities when you asked me to help you.”  
  
Sebastian bit his lower lip and took a minute to start talking. “OK, well… remember when you first started working here, and I had you look up some information on work visas and green cards?”  
  
“Yes…” Kurt didn’t like where this was going.  
  
“And you joked about how it was your job to keep me from getting deported?”  
  
“Um. Vaguely.”  
  
“Well, it turns out that’s actually true.”  
  
“I don’t understand,” Kurt said, even though he was starting to get a pretty good idea.  
  
“Kurt,” Sebastian said, meeting his eyes for the first time that day. “We have to get married.”


	6. Chapter 6

“We have to get married?” Kurt was sure he had hurt Sebastian wrong. He had been expecting Sebastian to ask him for a more complicated engagement ruse, one that somehow involved lying to police or government officials or something. “You mean… we have to _pretend_ we’re getting married?”

Sebastian shook his head. “Nope. No more pretending. Well, except for pretending that we actually love each other and this is not a marriage of convenience.”

“What…” Kurt was having trouble finding the words to express his confusion and disbelief. “What does that even mean? What marriage of convenience?”

“ _Our_ marriage of convenience, you idiot.”

Kurt frowned. “But we’re not getting married.”

“We are,” Sebastian told him. “Sorry for the short notice. I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this.”

“Hoping _what_ wouldn’t come to this?!”

“Wow, I thought you would have figured it out by now,” mused Sebastian. 

“Sebastian…”

“I talked to my uncle yesterday,” Sebastian said. “It’s over, I’m getting fired. At the end of the month, I’m out.”

“That’s…” Kurt still wasn’t getting it. “I mean, that sucks, I’m sorry, but you can’t be surprised.” 

“I’m not,” Sebastian confirmed. “But no job means I can’t renew my work visa, so I have to pursue alternative methods to stay in the country.”

It finally hit Kurt. “You _actually_ want me to marry you so you can get a green card?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry. It will be fairly painless for both of us, I think. Cathy sa-”

Kurt started laughing. “You can’t honestly think I’m going to _do_ it?” Sebastian just frowned. “Oh my God, you do!” Kurt said, laughing even harder. “You’re insane!”

“Kurt, this is really not that funny.”

“I disagree,” Kurt said. “It’s _hilarious_ that you think I’m going to help bail you out of this mess. You could have renewed your work visa months ago!”

“Not when my employment was potentially going to be over by the time my visa expired, anyway,” explained Sebastian. “It’s not like my uncle would have vouched for me.”

“So get another job!”

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “You read the immigration stuff, Kurt. You know they’re not going to let me stay here if I’m just working at McDonald’s. It needs to be something they consider important and helpful to the country.”

“But… you have a master’s degree!” Kurt sputtered. 

“Yeah, me and everyone else,” Sebastian replied. “Look, I’ve looked into it. This is the only way I have a chance.”

Kurt was silent for a moment. “Why does it have to be me?” Before Sebastian could answer, though, Kurt figured it out on his own. “Oh… oh my God! You _knew_! You’ve been planning this! You lied about that gala!”

Sebastian brought his hands up to his ears. “God, Kurt, remember when we discussed the screeching?”

Kurt reached over the desk that separated them and gave Sebastian’s arm a hard smack.

“Hey!” cried Sebastian. “There’s no reason to be violent!”

Kurt hit him again. “I have _every_ reason to be violent! You’ve been using me for months! You brought me to that gala just so you could tell people that we’ve been engaged for that long, and you _lied_ to me about it.”

“Oh, relax,” Sebastian said, taking a step back and holding out his arm so Kurt couldn’t get at his face. “It was a precaution, then. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to actually marry you.”

“Well, that makes me feel _so_ much better,” Kurt snapped.

“Look, I wasn’t lying about Jonathan. He _did_ help me get this job, and I did lie to him about being engaged.”

“So you used me for one small thing, while secretly using me for a much larger, more ridiculous thing,” said Kurt. “This is funny, coming from the guy who just had a complete freak out because he thought I was trying to use him to have my designs published.”

“OK, fine,” Sebastian said. “We’re even.”

“Even?!” Kurt cried. “In what way are we _even_? You’ve been lying to me for six months, only keeping me around in case you needed to _marry me_ for a fucking green card, and I made a slightly misguided decision about a feature in the magazine, which, by the way, I thought would _help_ you!”

“If I had told you from the beginning that I might need to marry you, you wouldn’t have come to the gala at all,” Sebastian said with a shrug. 

“Exactly,” Kurt replied. “I can’t believe this. You know, up until a few weeks ago, I actually thought we were starting to understand each other. I felt _bad_ for you, because you were going to get fired by your uncle and he never had any faith in you, and you were working so _hard_ -”

“I was working hard so I wouldn’t have to resort to this, you know,” Sebastian cut in.

Kurt acted like he hadn’t heard. “And I thought that if everyone else here could see how hard you worked, and how charming you could be when you wanted to, they wouldn’t hate you nearly so much, but then it turned out that _I_ was the one who misjudged you. I’m the idiot, not them.”

“Well,” Sebastian said with a grin, “you are an idiot. That part is true.”

“You’re an asshole. I don’t even know why I’m still here.”

“Because you’re more like me than you think,” Sebastian answered. “You’re waiting to see what I’m going to offer you.”

Kurt was offended by the accusation. “I most certainly am _not_ ,” he replied. “I’m going home now. This is my week off.” He turned to leave, but Sebastian rushed out around his desk to grab Kurt’s arm and stop him.

“You will be handsomely rewarded,” Sebastian informed him. “I’m sure you know how much money my family has.”

“I don’t want your money,” Kurt spit, shaking his arm free. “There is no amount that could make me marry you.”

“You owe me, Kurt!” Sebastian was starting to sound desperate now.

“I owe you because of a misunderstanding that _you_ overreacted about?” Kurt asked in disbelief. “Find someone else to buy, Sebastian. I don’t want your money.” He started to leave again, and he had his hand on the doorknob when Sebastian’s quiet voice stopped him.

“I know what you _do_ want, though.”

“Oh, do you?” asked Kurt, looking over his shoulder. “And what is that?” 

“That feature to run in the magazine. The one with your designs.” Kurt let go of the doorknob, which seemed to encourage Sebastian. “I’m still in charge until the end of the month. I could get it in the August issue, Kurt. We could do the interview, and get the models, and even advertise it in one of the headlines on the cover, with your name. Your name could be on the _cover_ , Kurt.”

It sounded wonderful, but Kurt was not going to let Sebastian know that. “That is not worth marrying you over,” he said. “Sorry. This conversation is over.”

“Kurt, please come here and sit down? I have this all worked out, and it’s really not as bad as it sounds.” 

“Marrying you so you can get a green card, which is spectacularly illegal, by the way, is not as bad as it sounds?” Kurt asked. “I doubt that.”

“Just hear me out? You came all the way out here already, anyway.”

Kurt sighed. “Fine,” he relented, approaching Sebastian’s desk. They both sat down. “I’ll give you five minutes.”

Sebastian gave him a brilliant grin. “That’s all I need. OK, here’s the thing. Cathy was being melodramatic about the consequences. There won’t be any.”

Kurt frowned. “What makes you say that?”

“The only thing we have to do is submit an application, and then do one short interview with US Citizenship and Immigration Services. They’ll approve my application, and-”

“Wait,” Kurt interrupted. “What makes you so sure you’ll be approved?”

“I’ve been here for years already, either in school or employed, I have a post-grad degree, and there’s no reason for them to believe this marriage is fake. This interview isn’t a fraud interview,” he explained. “That stuff you see in movies? That’s only if they suspect you of something. This is really simple. They’re checking to see if we speak the same language, are around the same age, if it’s even believable that we’d know each other.”

“The timing is suspicious, though,” Kurt countered. “With your visa expiring next month.”

“A little,” admits Sebastian. “But it really helps that everyone saw us pretending to be engaged back in December.”

“And you told Jonathan and Xavier that we were planning for a June wedding,” Kurt remembered.

“Yep. See how smart I am?”

“Don’t push it, Sebastian,” warned Kurt. 

“Fine, fine. So, yeah, there wouldn’t be any legal repercussions. And once we’re married for two years, they’ll take away my conditional visa, and I’ll have an actual green card, and we’re free to get divorced, as long as they still don’t think we’re suspicious.”

“Two years? That’s a long time.”

Sebastian waved his hand dismissively. “It’s nothing. We don’t even have to live together.” 

“Uh, that sounds like it could be considered _suspicious_ ,” Kurt said.

“As long as your name isn’t on a separate lease, it should be fine. When is your lease up?”

“August.”

“That would work great, then. Just don’t get a new place.”

The idea sounds pretty great to Kurt, actually. He had spent the past week looking at apartment ads and was having a lot of trouble finding anything in his price range if he wanted to live alone. “But if I’m not living with you, and I don’t get a new apartment…”

“My family owns an apartment in the city that no one’s using right now,” Sebastian explained. “You can live there, rent-free. Everyone wins.”

Kurt shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe your family just has an extra apartment in New York.”

“Yeah, well, we’re kind of a big deal,” Sebastian said with a shrug.

“Right, which begs the question : Why can’t anyone in your rich, powerful family help you get a visa?”

“My name will definitely help speed up our application’s approval,” Sebastian admitted. “But it doesn’t mean I don’t need a reason to apply in the first place. I still have to follow the law.”

“Um, green card marriages are against the law, too, Sebastian,” Kurt reminded him. “You might as well just bribe someone at the immigration office.”

Sebastian dismissed that idea. “Too risky. You can’t trust any of those people.” He grinned at Kurt. “Bribing you is _so_ much safer.”

“You’re acting like I’m actually considering doing this for you,” Kurt said. “I’m not. I just wanted to hear your ridiculous plan.”

“My _amazing_ plan,” corrected Sebastian. “It’s fail-proof.”

Kurt ignored him. “I still don’t understand how your family can’t help you. I read all that visa information. I know family members can apply on your behalf.”

“Well, Kurt, soon _you’ll_ be my family,” Sebastian teased, “so it _will_ be like my family’s helping me.” When he saw Kurt’s glare, he became more serious. “Only immediate family members can apply for that,” he explained. “My parents still live in France. I promise you, this is my only option.”

“That’s a shame,” Kurt told him, “because I’m not doing it. You’ve completely lost your mind.”

“But you owe-”

“I don’t owe you _anything_ , stop trying to convince me that I do. I’ve been nothing but helpful to you, and the way you repaid me is to lie to me for six months.”

“To be fair,” Sebastian said, “back when I decided to do this, I didn’t know you very well. You were just my assistant, and you were gay, so…”

“And what am I now?”

“What?”

“If I was just your assistant back then, what am I now?” Kurt asked. When Sebastian didn’t respond, he continued. “Because the way you’ve been treating me, it feels like I’m even _less_ than your assistant.”

“Oh God, are you ever going to stop complaining about that?” Sebastian asked. “I’m sorry, OK? Do I need to get down on my knees and beg your forgiveness?”

“Well… you _are_ asking me to marry you. A proposal is part of the deal, isn’t it?” Kurt joked.

Sebastian immediately stood up and walked around his desk. Kurt was confused until Sebastian dropped to one knee directly in front of Kurt’s chair.

“Oh my God,” Kurt screeched, standing up so quickly that his chair tipped backwards. “I was _joking_! How desperate are you?”

“Pretty desperate,” Sebastian admitted. “Isn’t that obvious? So if you could just agree to do this, then we could start the paperwork, and-”

“I’m not doing this, Sebastian. I said that already. It doesn’t matter how many features you publish on me. Two years is way too long to be attached to you, even if it’s only on paper.” Kurt paused for a breath. “I wouldn’t even be able to _date_ ,” he said, thinking of his plans with Nate the next evening.

“You can date,” Sebastian replied, standing back up. “I’m not going to deny you sex, that’s awful.”

“I can’t have my name on a lease, but I can date?” asked Kurt. “How does that make sense?”

“Well, you can’t have a boyfriend, obviously, but you can… you know. _Date_.”

“And by date you mean sleep with people, I assume?”

Sebastian nodded. “Glad we’re on the same page. As long as you’re not seeing someone on a regular basis and no one knows about it, it’s fine.”

“So you’re telling me I wouldn’t be able to be in a relationship for two years?”

“It won’t be that hard,” Sebastian said. “Don’t worry, I’m holding myself to the same rules.”

Kurt laughed. “Right, because it will be _so_ difficult for you to not be in a committed relationship for two years.”

“It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make, Kurt,” said Sebastian solemnly. “For you.”

Kurt couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re a true hero, Sebastian.”

Sebastian smiled, but got serious again after a minute. “Look, Kurt, I know you said you’re not going to do it, but I really think you should consider it. Think of what this feature could do for your career.”

Kurt sighed. “I know what it could do. And I know that it would really help you out, but-”

“Just think about it?” Sebastian asked. “Go home, and take the night to think about it, and tell me in the morning.”

“Sebastian, I’m not-”

“Please? You can say no tomorrow.”

“Fine,” Kurt agreed. “I’ll say no tomorrow, instead.”

Sebastian grinned. 

-

That should have been the end of it. Kurt shouldn’t have thought about Sebastian’s offer at all, but it was hard not to. In all honestly, it _was_ pretty appealing. Kurt had just been told he was going to have to move, and suddenly he was being offered a nice place to live, rent-free, for two years. He was probably going to be out of a job at the end of the month when Sebastian left, but if he decided to accept the offer, his designs would be featured, and he’d have the time, money, and interest from others to focus on getting his fashion line off the ground. Kurt wouldn’t even have to tell his family. He could probably make up some reason for why he was staying in such a fancy apartment, if necessary. 

The rule about no committed relationships for two years was troubling, but Kurt wasn’t sure he’d even want to be in a relationship anyway. Right now, he wasn’t particularly interested. He’d planned on dating Nate, but he had never considered it would go beyond a few dates and some sex. Nate was still in college, and they didn’t have much in common. Kurt could last two years without a boyfriend, he was sure of it. Just one less distraction he’d have to deal with while getting his line started. 

_No, two years really isn’t that long_ , he thought, trying to remember where he’d been exactly two years ago. It was this very same apartment, with Blaine and Rachel. He and Blaine had been about to leave on their two-week vacation to LA. That seemed like just yesterday, really. And two years in the future, Kurt will have just turned 26. He’ll be freshly divorced, and he won’t have a boyfriend, but he will have his own fashion line. He’ll be able to afford his own apartment and continue working at his dream job. 

Kurt hated the idea that he would allow himself to be bribed like this, though. It felt wrong, amoral, and a bit too desperate. Marriage had always been an idea that he cherished, even before he thought it would ever be a possibility for him. Of course, this wouldn’t prevent him from getting married for real in the future, but did he really want to use this amazing privilege he had just to further his career and help a guy he could barely tolerate stay in the country? Sebastian must have a good reason to want to stay in the country so badly, though, and despite all the hell Sebastian had put him through recently, Kurt still sympathized with him. 

Kurt hadn’t made his final decision yet, but he sent a text to Nate that night, anyway. _**I know we had plans tomorrow, but it looks like I’m going to have to cancel. Something came up.**_

Nate’s reply came quickly. _**:( that sucks. We can reschedule after you get back from the wedding?**_

Kurt felt so guilty that it took him 20 minutes to work up the nerve to hit ‘send’ on his next text. _ **I don’t think that’s a good idea. My life has just become really, really complicated, and dating is not an option for me right now. I’m really sorry.**_

Kurt was not terribly surprised that Nate never texted him back. 

\- 

When Kurt got off the subway the next morning, he still had not officially made his decision. He figured his morals were about to take a serious hit, though, because if he had been planning on saying no, he could have done it over the phone, without coming all the way to Manhattan.

Sebastian looked relieved when Kurt walked through the door. “You changed your mind,” he said.

“I did not,” Kurt insisted as he sat down opposite Sebastian. “Well, not yet. If I agree to this, we need to lay out all the terms of the arrangement.”

“We can do that,” Sebastian said. “We can’t actually write anything down and sign it, though.”

“Right,” Kurt said. “Suspicious.”

“Yeah, so you’ll just have to trust me.”

Kurt sighed. “I’m supposed to trust the guy who has been prepping me to be involved in a sham marriage with him pretty much since the day we met?”

“What exactly are you afraid I’m going to do?’

Kurt thought for a minute. “Well, mainly, I need to be sure that this will only be two years, and then it will be over.”

“OK, well, we probably shouldn’t file for divorce the exact same day the condition is lifted, but beyond that, why do you think I’d want to stay married to you?”

“I don’t know!” Kurt cried. He was getting frustrated. “To use me for something else I can’t even fathom right now?”

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Stop being so melodramatic. You can file for divorce on your own, you know. And why would I contest it? You have the power to expose me and get me deported.”

“OK, so, approximately two years. And I’ll have a place to stay that I don’t have to pay for…”

“Yes, definitely,” Sebastian said. “I can show it to you today if you want.”

“How big is it?” asked Kurt.

“Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a separate kitchen and dining room, and a living room. And it’s in Manhattan. You wouldn’t have to live in Brooklyn anymore.”

“Maybe I like Brooklyn.”

Sebastian snorted. “No one _likes_ Brooklyn. They tell themselves that they do so they don’t hate their lives quite as much.”

“Whatever. How often will I have to see you? You made it seem like never, but if someone noticed that, and thought it was suspicious…”

“You should probably be in my building from time to time,” Sebastian agreed. “We could make plans for once a month or something.”

“So if I agree to marry you, wear the ring for two years, and see you once a month, I get to live in that apartment the whole time we’re married, _and_ you’ll run my feature in the August issue?” Kurt wanted to make sure the terms were very clear.

“Yes,” Sebastian confirmed. “And before you ask why you should trust me to run the story, remember that I got fired, I hate my uncle, and I have no reason _not_ to try and poison the magazine with your mediocre crap.”

“ _Really_?” asked Kurt. “You’re trying to get me to do you a huge favor and you’re going to talk to me like that?”

“I like how you refuse to acknowledge that this is an amazing opportunity for you,” Sebastian said. “Stop acting like you’re a martyr here, Kurt. You’re interested in this because it’s going to help launch your career and you’ll be able to mooch off of me while you do it. We both win here, OK? Can we just start filling out the visa application?”

Kurt was about to relent when another idea struck him. “No,” He said. “Not yet. I have more terms.”

Sebastian let out a frustrated sigh. “You’re getting enough out of this,” he argued.

“This one will only take a little while,” Kurt replied, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the ring he’d placed there this morning. He passed it to Sebastian. “If you want me to marry you, you’re going to have to propose to me. Convincingly.”

“Nope,” dismissed Sebastian. “I tried to do that yesterday, _darling_ , and you weren’t having it. You’ve lost your chance.”

“I don’t want a weird, desperate office proposal,” Kurt said. “It needs to be ridiculously romantic. And at the top of the Empire State Building, since that’s where we said it happened.”

“Where _you_ said it happened,” Sebastian corrected. “That’s ridiculous.” 

“It is,” Kurt agreed.

“You’re just doing this to humiliate me,” accused Sebastian.

Kurt smiled. “Is it that obvious? I’m not kidding, though. Those are my terms.”

Sebastian swore under his breath. “I really hate you, you know.”

“A wonderful way to start a marriage,” Kurt chirped. It was almost disturbing how much he enjoyed having the upper hand over Sebastian. “Shall we go?”

“What, now?!” Sebastian asked. “Can’t it wait?”

“I’m not filling out any paperwork until I’ve been properly proposed to,” Kurt insisted. “It’s the right way to do things.” 

“Fine,” Sebastian gritted out. “We’ll go to the fucking Empire State Building, and then we’re stopping by the city clerk’s office to get a marriage license, and after _that_ , we are coming back here to fill out this application.”

“We’re, uh, we’re going to get a marriage license today?” Kurt asked. “That seems a little soon.”

“It’s good for 60 days, but we might as well get it over with. Then we can get married whenever we can fit it in.” 

“Right,” Kurt said, trying to hide his nerves. “Of course.”

“So, let’s get going, then. Is the observation deck open this early?”

“It should be,” Kurt replied. “I think it opens at eight. You should order the tickets online before we go, then we can skip the ticket line.” Kurt, having shown many of his visiting friends and family members all the touristy sites of the city, knew how the whole process worked.

“God, you’re such a tourist,” scoffed Sebastian.

“Says the French guy,” Kurt shot back. “Just shut up and buy the tickets.”

“So that’s how this relationship is going to work, then?” Sebastian teased. “I have to go along with whatever crazy ideas you have?”

“And pay for them, yes,” Kurt said. 

Sebastian laughed. “Right. Of course.”

-

The top observation deck of the Empire State Building was not as crowded as it had been the other times Kurt visited, probably because it was only 10 a.m. when they arrived. The area was mostly filled with young Catholic school children in uniforms being watched over by nuns. Sebastian, who had seemed to be in a good mood when they left the office, had spent the whole trip to the building, the wait in line, and elevator ride to the observation deck becoming progressively more crankier.

“This is stupid,” he said as Kurt walked over to the railing and looked at the view. “I can’t believe you’re making me do this.”

Kurt ignored him. “It would have been better at night,” he mused. “With all the lights, you know?” 

“It’s now or never, sweetheart,” Sebastian grunted. “Get over it.”

“Charming,” remarked Kurt. “You’re the one who’s doing the proposing, right? Get down on one knee already, and make it good.”

Sebastian shot him a glare, but obliged. As soon as he was down on his knee, a woman near them gasped in delight and tugged at the sleeve of the guy she was with, rambling excitedly in a language Kurt didn’t recognize. Sebastian looked so nervous, and Kurt couldn’t help but grin.

“Is there a reason you’re on the ground?” Kurt asked. “Did you trip? Do you need help getting up?”

Sebastian’s eyes narrowed, but he ignored the teasing. “Kurt,” he started, then swallowed hard. “I know you and I have only known each other for six months, but-”

“Seven months,” Kurt corrected him with a smile.

“Seven months,” Sebastian repeated. “But ever since we met… um…” He looked down at the ground. “Fuck, this is harder than I thought.”

“Good thing you’ll never have to propose to anybody for real, then,” said Kurt. They definitely had a small audience of people pretending not to be watching them now, so Kurt lowered his voice. “You should probably have the ring out, too.”

“Oh, right,” Sebastian said, reaching into his pants pocket. “OK. Um. Kurt, we haven’t known each other very long, but the past seven months have been really great. You can be really whiny, and you aren’t great at following orders, but… you’re really… smart, and ambitious, and uh, resilient, and you work really hard to get what you want, and even though you seem like a total bitch, you’re actually really kind and understanding. And funny. Having you around inspires me to be better, and I… I don’t want to lose that. So, uh…” He held out the ring. “Marry me?” 

Kurt was too stunned to answer right away. He had planned on saying ‘no’ to Sebastian immediately, just to make him mad, but Kurt hadn’t expected the proposal to seem so personal. He had been expecting an over-the-top speech with Sebastian declaring his undying love, not a list of Kurt’s best qualities. He couldn’t help but wonder if Sebastian actually believed all of those things he’d said. 

“Um… Kurt?” Sebastian asked after a minute. 

“Sorry,” Kurt said. Everyone around them was openly staring at this point, and he knew this probably looked strange. “Um, yes. Yes! Of course I’ll marry you.”

“Finally,” Sebastian muttered. A few people around them applauded while Kurt held out his left hand and Sebastian placed the ring on his finger with a bit more force than necessary. “Do we have to kiss, or is that good?” he asked in a low voice as he stood up.

Kurt laughed. “No kissing. What would the nuns think?”

“I kind of want to do it just to piss off the nuns, to be honest,” Sebastian said.

Kurt rolled his eyes, and tugged Sebastian away from the crowd. “Sorry, kissing was not included in our agreement.” 

“Does that mean we can’t fuck, either?” Sebastian asked as they approached the doors to go back inside.

“Sebastian! There are kids around!”

“And nuns,” Sebastian added with a grin.

“You’re disgusting,” Kurt replied, but he was smiling a little himself. 

“And yet you agreed to marry me anyway,” remarked Sebastian. “OK, that was good enough, right? We can go get the marriage license now?”

“Uh, yeah,” Kurt said, the smile fading. “The marriage license.”

“Shall we stop somewhere and have some gin first?” teased Sebastian. Kurt’s smile returned as he gave Sebastian’s arm a playful smack.

\- 

Obtaining the marriage license was a lot less painful than Kurt had been anticipating. The form was simple, and they only needed a few different types of identification. Kurt had expected rude looks or comments from the clerk because they were both men, but she seemed completely uninterested in them. It thrilled Kurt, honestly, to stand in the clerk’s office and be issued a marriage license to wed another man. The fact that he even had the ability to enter into an ill-advised marriage in order to trick the US government was _delightful_. He was just like everyone else, marrying for the wrong reasons, abusing the system. It was something he had never expected to be able to do. 

Sebastian and Kurt picked up food on the way back to the office so they could have a late lunch while filling out the visa application. Kurt had just started filling out his portion when the ‘name’ box reminded him of something the clerk had said about how to change their names.

“You’re, um, not expecting me to change my name, right? Because I really don’t want to do that.”

Sebastian looked up from his plate. “No, of course not. That’s not suspicious, tons of people keep their names.”

“Good,” Kurt let out a sigh of relief. “Because I’d really like to avoid telling my parents, and that could… complicate things.”

“Oh,” Sebastian said, sounding surprised. “You’re going to have to tell your parents, Kurt.”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, on the off-chance that we do get called in for a fraud interview, it’s going to look _really_ bad if your parents don’t know we’re married.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Kurt admitted. “I just… I can tell them later, I guess. They wouldn’t even believe it right now. But I’m going home tomorrow for the wedding, so maybe if I casually mention that we’re seeing each other, then-”

“Fuck, I forgot to talk to you about that,” Sebastian said. 

“I have to go to my brother’s wedding, Sebastian,” Kurt insisted. “If you tell me I can’t, this whole thing is off, I swear.”

“Of course you’re going to your brother’s wedding, don’t be an idiot,” Sebastian replied. “But you can’t go without me. We’re getting married soon, it would look ridiculous if I’m not there with you.”

Kurt frowned. “Look, I’d really rather not bring down the mood of my brother’s wedding by making everyone upset with my life choices, OK? They’re not going to be pleased that I’m marrying my boss so he can get a green card.”

“Well, obviously you’re not going to tell them _that_ ,” Sebastian said. “You’ll just tell them we’re engaged.”

“You want me to lie to my family?”

“Uh, yeah,” Sebastian said, like it should have been obvious. “Not just your family. _Everyone_. That’s part of the deal, Kurt.”

“I can’t lie to my family,” replied Kurt, though the idea was actually better than trying to convince them he wasn’t a terrible person for getting involved in a sham marriage. “Well, maybe I _could_ , but I can’t lie to everybody. Rachel won’t believe it for a second, she knows about the gala and everything, and she knows we don’t get along. And Blaine! He knew about the fake engagement, too.”

Sebastian cocked his head. “Your ex? Why would you even be talking to him?”

“Well, he’s going to be at the wedding,” Kurt explained. “He’ll see us together.”

“Why is he coming to your brother’s wedding?”

“We dated for six years, Sebastian,” Kurt said. “He’s sort of like… part of the family. He’s one of Finn’s groomsmen.”

“Fuck,” cursed Sebastian. “Is that going to be a problem?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, is your family going to flip out because you brought someone else to your brother’s wedding?”

“I don’t think so,” Kurt replied. “They’ll be confused, but probably only Blaine will be upset.”

“Will he cause trouble?”

Kurt laughed. “Um, no. He just… will know that I’m lying, and that you’re making me do this.”

“Hey,” Sebastian snapped. “You agreed to this on your own, OK? I did not _make_ you do anything.”

“OK, OK,” Kurt said. “Sorry. I just meant that he’ll know we’re lying, so it’s probably best that I tell him beforehand to avoid any questions in front of other people.”

Sebastian sighed. “OK, whatever. So you can tell your roommate and your ex. But that’s it.”

“Do I really have to tell my family we’re engaged?” Kurt asked. “They’ll buy that I’m seeing someone, maybe, but engagement would make no sense to them. And I don’t want to overshadow Finn’s wedding by announcing that I’m getting married, too. That’s just poor etiquette.”

“OK…” Sebastian took a moment to think. “Let’s compromise. We’ll just tell them we’re seeing each other, and then we can tell them later that we’re going to get married. When’s the wedding?”

“Saturday.” 

“And you were planning on flying back…?”

“Tuesday.”

“So there’s time to tell them after your brother is already gone on his honeymoon, then,” Sebastian said. “You won’t even be stealing his thunder. Everyone wins.”

“Sebastian,” Kurt argued, “I don’t even know if there’s _room_ for you at this wedding. It’s only a few days away!”

“And what kind of brother wouldn’t make room for the love of his brother’s life?” 

Kurt sighed. “I guess I can call him and ask.”

“Good idea,” Sebastian said. “Keep working on that application, though, because we need to get it to Cathy by 3:30 if we want to have her schedule our interview for next week.”

Kurt took out his cell phone, selected Finn’s number, and placed the phone on the desk with the speaker phone on so he could continue filling out the form while he talked. Finn answered after a few rings.

“Hey, bro, what’s up?”

“Hi, Finn,” Kurt said. “Sorry to bother you, I know you’re probably busy this week.”

“Oh, not really,” Finn replied. “What’s up?”

“I have a question to ask about the wedding.”

“Um, you didn’t change your mind about Blaine being in the wedding party, right?” Finn asked. “Because it’s kind of late for me to find someone else now.”

“No, no, of course not,” Kurt assured him. “I just… I know I said I would be coming alone, but would it be OK if I brought a date? I know this is really short notice, but-”

“A date? You have a date?” Finn sounded delighted. “That’s great, Kurt!”

Kurt caught Sebastian smirking out of the corner of his eye. “Uh… thanks. We’ve been seeing each other for a little while now, and I thought it would be nice to introduce him to everyone, so…”

“That’s totally fine, dude,” Finn said. “We can make room for one more.”

“It won’t be a problem, food-wise? I know it’s late to order extra meals…”

“Oh, we don’t have caterers doing it,” replied Finn. “It’s pretty casual, kind of like a buffet sort of thing. Lots of different people are making stuff.”

“Oh,” Kurt said, scrunching up his face in distaste. Sebastian was trying not to burst out laughing. “That sounds… lovely.”

“Yeah, it should be fun. So definitely bring your date! Is he coming with you tomorrow, or flying in later in the week?”

Kurt looked over at Sebastian, who mouthed “tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” Kurt told Finn. “Can you tell my dad he doesn’t have to pick me up at the airport? We’re going to rent a car.”

“OK,” Finn said. “So who’s the guy? Anyone we know?”

“Well, no, but… “ Kurt took a deep breath. It was better to break the news now, he supposed. “It’s my boss, actually? Well, he won’t be my boss anymore soon, but… yeah. It’s Sebastian. I’m sure I’ve mentioned him?”

“Sebastian?” Finn asked, sounding surprised. “Didn’t you say he was the most self-centered person-”

Kurt nearly knocked all of the papers off of Sebastian’s desk in his haste to turn off the speaker phone. Sebastian looked amused.

“You must be thinking of someone else,” Kurt said, holding the phone up to his ear. “Sebastian’s… great.”

“No,” Finn said, confused. “You definitely said it was your boss, and that his name was Sebastian.” 

“Well,” Kurt said, “I might have been joking?”

“You do have a weird sense of humor,” Finn admitted. “I guess I just didn’t get the joke.”

“Yeah, that’s probably it,” Kurt said. He could trick Finn fairly easily, but he’d also complained about Sebastian to his dad and Carole, and he wasn’t sure how to convince them that the same guy he’d been complaining about just last week was suddenly someone he intended to marry. This week was going to be awful. “So, yeah, if you want to mention that to Carole and my dad, too, just so they’re not surprised…”

“Yeah, sure, we’re having dinner with them tonight,” Finn told him. “So I guess I’ll be seeing you tomorrow, then?” 

“Definitely,” replied Kurt.

Once he had ended the call, Kurt looked over at Sebastian. “I forgot that I might have mentioned to my family how awful you can be,” he said.

Sebastian snorted. “We’ll just have to work around that, I guess.”

“Yeah. Hey, if you’re coming with me tomorrow, you need a plane ticket. It might be hard to get one on such short notice.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Sebastian replied. “I’m sure first class isn’t full yet.”

“Is first class _really_ necessary?” Kurt asked. “It’s a very short flight.”

“I’ve never sat in coach in my life,” Sebastian told him. Kurt rolled his eyes. “So yes, it’s necessary. Don’t get all whiny about it, I’ll upgrade your ticket, too.”

“I wasn’t getting _whiny_ ,” Kurt said. “I was just commenting on the fact that you’re a spoiled brat.” 

“And you’re going to have to stop commenting on all of the reasons you hate me very soon,” Sebastian replied. “Or else your family is not going to be convinced by us at all.”

“You just called me whiny!” Kurt cried. “If I have to stop, so do you.”

“Fine,” Sebastian said. “Let’s agree now. We can’t be assholes to each other until we get back from Ohio.” He held out his hand.

“OK,” Kurt agreed, giving Sebastian’s hand a firm shake. “You know, this isn’t going to be easy.”

“We can handle it,” replied Sebastian, but he sounded unsure. “We’ll be fine.” 


	7. Chapter 7

Kurt Hummel was a master packer. He could fit more into a suitcase than anyone he knew, and none of the clothing would be wrinkled, no hats or shoes squished, no liquid toiletries leaking anywhere but in their tightly packed bags. Kurt color coded, folded everything perfectly, and used up every inch of space in each separate compartment . Packing felt like art to him, and he loved doing it. Traveling was something Kurt found stressful, and the meticulous packing soothed him.

The night before his trip to Ohio for his brother’s wedding, Kurt’s suitcase was a mess. Clothes hung over the sides, already wrinkling from the carelessness with which they’d been tossed there. A few pairs of shoes were placed in the main compartment on top of the toiletry items he wouldn’t be needing that night.. He had brought far too many outfits out of his closet for a weeklong stay. Kurt couldn’t narrow down his choices, though, couldn’t get everything folded right, couldn’t get everything to fit. It was one a.m., and he was starting to worry he wouldn’t even be ready in time for his early afternoon flight. 

He had spent a lot of the evening researching immigration visas granted to fiancés and spouses, printing relevant information about the fraud interviews to show Sebastian, and becoming increasingly convinced that Sebastian would be deported and Kurt would be arrested the second the immigration officer met with them next week. Cathy had submitted the application this afternoon and set up an appointment for them the following Wednesday, which was the day after they were to return from Ohio. They had a week to figure out how to convince an immigration officer that they were actually in love. Kurt supposed trying to convince his family and friends would be good practice, but he was fairly certain that wasn’t going to go well at all. Wouldn’t they know him well enough to know that he wouldn’t marry a guy he’d only been dating for a very short period of time, _especially_ one he started dating immediately after the end of a six year relationship? Would they think he’d gone off the deep end since his break-up with Blaine? Would they think he’d been _cheating_ on Blaine with Sebastian? Kurt wasn’t sure how anyone would react, but he imagined no one would be terribly happy for him. 

Rachel entered the apartment a little after one a.m. and knocked on his bedroom door, which was already open. “Hey, Kurt,” she said. “I was hoping I’d catch you before you were asleep.” She took a look at the packing mayhem happening in and around his bed and frowned. “Do you have time for a break? I got you a treat!”

Kurt didn’t have much time for a break, but he needed one anyway, so he followed Rachel to the kitchen, where they sat down together at the table.

“Santino’s cheesecake!” she said with a grin, pushing a small takeout container with a plastic fork on top toward him. “Thom and I were in the area tonight, so I thought I’d get you a celebratory rebound guy piece of cheesecake.”

“Rebound guy?” Kurt asked, confused.

“Your cute coffee shop guy! Nate, right? How did your date go?”

“Oh,” Kurt said. “Well, um…”

Rachel frowned. “You canceled it, didn’t you?”

“Well, yes, but-”

“I should take your cheesecake away,” she told him. 

Kurt placed a protective arm around the takeout box. “I had a good reason,” he insisted. “I need to, uh, talk to you about that, actually.”

Rachel looked intrigued. “Oh?”

“Yeah… Sebastian got fired,” said Kurt, taking the fork and opening up the cheesecake box. “He’s leaving the magazine at the end of the month.”

“That’s a good thing, right?” Rachel asked. “Now you won’t have to deal with him anymore. Oh, wait, do you think they’ll fire you, too?”

“I’m not sure,” Kurt admitted as he took his first bite of cheesecake. It was raspberry. His favorite. Sometimes, he really loved Rachel. “No one’s said anything to me about it yet. But I was bringing it up because Sebastian can’t renew his work visa without a job, so…”

“So he has to leave the country?” Rachel looked confused. “What does that have to do with your date?”

Kurt took a deep breath and braced himself for an unpleasant reaction. “I’m going to marry him so he can stay here.”

Rachel was quiet for a moment. “You’re kidding, right?” she asked eventually.

“No,” Kurt said. “But don’t freak out, OK? I’m getting a really good deal.”

“Kurt…”

“He’s running that feature on my designs in his last issue,” Kurt told her. “And giving me a great place to live for the two years that we have to stay married. And all I have to do is marry him and see him from time to time, and… well, convince most people I know that I actually wanted to marry him because I loved him. I’m only telling you because you knew about the fake engagement thing already.”

Rachel’s eyes widened. “Is that why he did that? So people wouldn’t think it was crazy when you got married?”

“That was one of the reasons, yeah.”

“What a jerk!” she cried. “I can’t believe you’d do this for him.”

“He’s going to run a feature on my designs, Rachel! Do you have any idea how much that’s going to help me?”

“He should have done that, anyway,” Rachel insisted. “You’ve been a great assistant, and you guys were friends, and-”

“We weren’t friends,” Kurt interrupted.

“Right,” Rachel replied. “You spent every waking minute trying to help him out because you hated him? You don’t owe him this, too, Kurt.”

“I know I don’t owe him anything, but I’m getting a lot out of this,” Kurt told her. “And I don’t mind helping him out, either.”

Rachel sighed. “You canceled a date with a cute guy so you could marry your jerk of a boss.”

“We’re not married yet,” Kurt pointed out. “Though we did get our marriage license. Would you and Thom be our witnesses when we do it? It will probably be the end of next week.”

“If you want, but… Kurt, are you really sure you want to do this? What are you going to tell your family?”

“Well, I’m not going to tell them I’m letting my boss marry me so he can get a green card,” he replied. “Sebastian’s coming home with me tomorrow, and I’m going to introduce him as my boyfriend, so it’s not so crazy when they find out we got married. Sebastian thinks we should tell them we’re engaged, but I don’t know…”

“You’re going to lie to everyone?” 

“I sort of have to,” Kurt said. “If the immigration people have a reason to think anything’s suspicious, we’d have to go through fraud interviews and stuff.”

“You’re lying to everyone, but you trust me with your secret,” Rachel said with a small smile. 

“Well… yeah,” Kurt replied. He decided not to remind her that it was mostly just because she probably would have figured it out on her own, anyway. “And I have to tell Blaine. I don’t think he’ll believe that I’m engaged, and if he does believe it, he’ll probably think I was cheating on him or something.”

“Blaine wouldn’t think that,” Rachel said. “Other people might, though. The timing is sort of weird. How are you going to tell Blaine?”

“About that,” Kurt started, giving her a small smile, “I was sort of hoping you could do it? Because I haven’t really talked to him since we broke up, and after seeing him with that guy at graduation…”

“You want _me_ to tell him?” Rachel cried. “Oh no, no, no, not happening. This is your mess, Kurt. I’m not going to be the one to give him bad news.”

“It won’t even affect him,” Kurt argued, though he knew it wasn’t true. Blaine _would_ be upset by this, and that was the main reason Kurt didn’t want to tell him himself. It was going to be hard enough dealing with Blaine at the wedding this weekend without this awkward situation between them. “I just don’t want him to be surprised when he shows up at the rehearsal dinner and hears everyone talking about how Sebastian is my boyfriend.”

“Can’t you just… email him or something?” Rachel asked. “I really don’t want to be the messenger here, just because I’m friends with you both.”

“I guess I could do that,” Kurt agreed. He still wasn’t looking forward to it, but it would certainly be better than a phone call. 

“This is mostly about him publishing your designs, right? Not about having a place to live?” Rachel asked. “Because you know you can stay with Thom and I for a while if you have trouble finding a place.”

“It’s mostly about the feature,” confirmed Kurt. “I know it sounds crazy, but my life is sort of a mess right now, and this seems… smart.” He tried not to think of the the mess in his bedroom and the pages of research on green card marriages that advised otherwise.

“Well,” Rachel said after a minute, “this should be an interesting weekend.”

“Yeah,” agreed Kurt. “I talked to Finn earlier. Apparently, the wedding is outside, and they don’t have a caterer. I guess Kayla’s family is making most of the food themselves, and they’re having a buffet-type thing.. It’s going to be a mess.”

Kurt was worried that Rachel would not allow the slight change in subject, but she was easily distracted. “I think that sounds nice,” she said.

“It sounds terrible,” Kurt replied. “I still can’t believe I didn’t get to help plan it at all.”

“Hey, this is their wedding, not yours,” Rachel scolded him. “If they want an outdoor wedding with a buffet, that’s what they should have! You can wait for your wedding to have all the fancy, expensive stuff, with waiters and food that no one can pronounce.”

Kurt grimaced. His own wedding would be taking place in the next few weeks in a courthouse, probably. There would be nothing of the sort. “I know,” he said. “I just wish I could have been involved somehow.”

“You planned the bachelor party,” Rachel pointed out. 

“True. But it’s just going to be a casual party with close friends and takeout,” Kurt explained. 

“So, exactly what he wants, then?”

“Yeah, he’s going to love it.”

Rachel smiled. “That’s all that matters, then! You’re a good brother.”

Kurt laughed. “I try.” They sat in silence for a few minutes while Kurt finished his cheesecake. Before he got up to continue the packing disaster in his bedroom, he turned to Rachel. “So… you guys will do the witness thing? When we get back next week?” 

“Yeah,” she said. “Of course. If you’re still planning on going through with it then.”

“We will be,” Kurt told her, getting up from his chair. “I have to get back to packing, OK? If we don’t see each other tomorrow morning, I’ll see you Saturday at the wedding?”

“Yeah, Thom and I are flying in early Saturday morning,” she said, standing up and giving him a quick hug after he tossed his take out container in the trash. “Have a good time with your fiancé.”

“We called for a ceasefire,” Kurt explained. “We’re not allowed to be mean to each other anymore. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Sure it will.” Rachel didn’t sound convinced. “Good night, Kurt.”

“Good night.”

Before Kurt went back to packing, he started to write an email to Blaine. The first attempt ended up being way too long and contained far too many details, but Kurt planned on sending it anyway, until he started wondering whether or not his email records could be searched in the event of an investigation into their marriage. He deleted everything he’d written, and started over. In the end, the email he sent was quite vague. 

_Blaine,_

_I wanted to give you some advance warning that I’m going to be attending Finn’s wedding with Sebastian. It’s sort of a complicated situation, but I don’t want to discuss it over email. Just… don’t panic, OK? And don’t listen to what anyone else says. We can talk in person at the rehearsal dinner, and I’ll explain. See you Friday._

_Kurt_

-

Though Kurt managed to finish packing and get to bed soon after that, he wasn’t able to get as much sleep as he intended. Sebastian called him at eight a.m., demanding that he come into the office before they left for the airport together. Kurt took a quick shower, gathered his bags, and slipped on his engagement ring, in case the last minute meeting included Cathy. Cathy wasn’t there when Kurt arrived, though, and there was no meeting at all.

“Why did you make me come here?” Kurt asked, dropping his carry-on bag on the floor of the office. “This is incredibly out of my way.”

“And it would have been out of my way to have the car pick you up on the way to JFK,” Sebastian said with a shrug. 

“I had to bring all this shit on the subway,” Kurt gritted out. “Do you have any idea how annoying that is?” Sebastian just smirked. “Of course you don’t,” Kurt continued. “I forgot rich people don’t have to take the subway.”

“Jealousy doesn’t suit you,” Sebastian said. “Remember, we’re being nice to each other now.”

“Well, it would have been _nice_ if you could have picked me up at my apartment.”

“Noted,” Sebastian said. “And since we’re being honest with each other, I think it also would have been nice if you’d picked me up a caramel macchiato on the way here.”

“Right, I could have balanced it on my head, surely,” Kurt replied. “I’m not even working today! But since we’re being _nice_ , I guess it’s only fair to warn you now that I can’t get you a drink from Starbucks anymore. You will have to spend your last few weeks here with a drink from somewhere else.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I was supposed to go on a date with a barista there, but instead I’m marrying you,” Kurt told him. 

“Aww,” gushed Sebastian. “You chose me. I’m touched, Kurt, really.”

“You should be. It was a hard choice.”

“I’m sure,” teased Sebastian. “One of the _richest_ , most handsome men in the world versus some acne-ridden college kid who makes eight bucks an hour. It must have been _agonizing_.”

“You sure have a high opinion of yourself for someone who just got fired by their own uncle,” Kurt shot back. “You can’t even keep a job with nepotism on your side, that must feel awful.”

“Ouch,” Sebastian replied, placing a hand over his heart. “Getting me right where it hurts. I’ll spend the rest of the day wiping my tears with handfuls of $100 bills.”

“That might draw some attention to us at airport security,” Kurt said. “Maybe you should just use tissues.”

“Oh, they’re used to it from first class passengers,” Sebastian replied, waving an arm dismissively. “They let us do whatever we want, you know? Because we’re so _rich_.” 

“Is this your passive aggressive way of telling me you don’t like me calling you rich?”

Sebastian cocked his head. “Was it passive?”

Kurt sighed. “I don’t think we’re very good at being nice to each other.”

“This _is_ our nice, darling,” Sebastian replied. His phone beeped in his pocket, and he checked the display. “Car’s waiting,” he announced. “Let’s go.”

-

Kurt didn’t want to admit it to Sebastian, but being a first class passenger was pretty amazing. They got to wait in a fancy lounge before boarding, they were allowed to board and get settled before anyone else, and there was so much extra legroom and space in the luggage compartments that Kurt almost didn’t feel like he was on an airplane at all.

“Every seat is an aisle seat,” he couldn’t help but marvel.

Sebastian laughed. “This is nothing. You should see first class on Air France. It’s like a lounge,” he said.”

“Well,” Kurt joked, “maybe our marriage should include a trip to France, then.”

“I suppose you’ll have to meet my parents at some point,” Sebastian said. “So it’s possible.”

“To go to Paris? Really?” Kurt hadn’t been able to control his enthusiasm, and Sebastian laughed. 

“You’re easy to please,” he remarked. “I like that in a husband.”

“It’s not my fault you were raised in Paris and have never traveled in coach,” Kurt argued. “You’d be excited by this stuff, too, if you hadn’t.”

“Maybe,” Sebastian shrugged. “I’m glad you agree that coach is no longer an option for people who have seen first class.”

“I could see how a spoiled person would think that, yes,” Kurt replied. “I will admit that I now hope my fashion line will be successful enough to support a first class lifestyle even after our divorce.”

“That’s a bit optimistic.”

“Well, you’ve never seen my designs. They’re amazing.”

“Even so, it takes a while for any company to get off the ground,” reasoned Sebastian. “But your settlement should help you out until you really get started.”

“What settlement?” Kurt asked.

“The divorce settlement,” Sebastian clarified. “I’m sure it will keep you in first class for a few years, at least.”

Kurt was confused. “You told me Cathy was drawing up a prenup for us to sign next week.”

“She is,” replied Sebastian. “It won’t leave you with _nothing_ , though. It’s just to make sure you don’t take half of my assets.”

“I’m not interested in your _assets_ ,” Kurt said. “I don’t need a settlement from you at all.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Don’t be such a martyr, Kurt. The money will help you upgrade your family’s potluck wedding lifestyle, that’s all.”

The dig at Kurt’s family hurt. He could handle Sebastian’s rude and disparaging remarks when they were aimed at him, but the thought of Sebastian mocking his family or being condescending to them made his chest hurt. Kurt knew that, compared to Sebastian’s family, his own family must seem like a bunch of uneducated, unsophisticated rednecks. Kurt presented himself a bit differently, and most people were surprised when they met his family. If Sebastian was so condescending toward him, how would he react to Kurt’s family? 

“You can’t talk like that about my family,” Kurt snapped. “I know you’re going to think they’re quaint and unworldly, but if you’re rude to them, this whole deal is off, OK? I’m adding this to our terms right now. Because they’re really wonderful people and they’re very important to me and they will _never_ believe I would marry someone who treats them like second-class citizens.”

Sebastian looked taken aback. “Uh, OK? What good would it do me to be rude to your family, anyway?”

“You’re rude to pretty much everybody,” Kurt pointed out. 

“I’m good with parents,” replied Sebastian. “They’ll love me. Don’t worry. Speaking of the terms, though…”

“You don’t get to add anything else,” Kurt told him. “I’m _marrying_ you, that’s enough.”

“I’m not trying to add anything new. I just want to clarify something you said yesterday.”

“About?”

“Kissing. You said it wasn’t in the terms.”

“It’s not,” Kurt affirmed. “So don’t try anything.”

“Don’t you think your family’s going to find it weird that we’re engaged but don’t ever kiss each other?”

“No,” Kurt said. “My family will not find that weird at all, because I don’t really do public displays of affection.”

“Ever?” Sebastian asked in disbelief. “You never kissed your ex in front of them? In six years?”

“Maybe on the cheek,” Kurt said, shrugging.

“Are they uncomfortable with…”

“No,” Kurt said. “Not at all. It’s just not something I like doing. I don’t like watching other people do it, so it would make me a hypocrite.”

“That’s so strange,” Sebastian mused. 

“It’s not _that_ strange,” Kurt insisted. “I do some things.”

“Like?”

“Like holding hands,” Kurt said. He could feel his face starting to turn red. 

“Aww, how _adorable_ ,” gushed Sebastian. “Should we be holding hands now?”

“If you want to both of your hands to remain intact, you’ll keep them to yourself,” Kurt snapped. 

Sebastian laughed. “Touchy, aren’t we?”

Kurt ignored him. “Since we’re on the topic of appearances,” he said, reaching into his carry-on bag to retrieve the research he’d printed the night before, “I have some stuff we should look at.” He handed a list of potential fraud interview questions he had found to Sebastian.

“What’s this?”

“The questions the immigration officers might ask to determine if we’re actually together,” Kurt explained. “I thought we should go through them.”

Sebastian glanced at the sheet. “These are fraud interview questions,” he said. “They’re not going to ask us these next week. This is only if they think we’re suspicious.”

“Well, it could still be helpful,” Kurt insisted. “Shit, do you think it will look suspicious that I printed this out right before we got married?”

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “You’re being paranoid. No one’s going to search your computer.”

“Right. Of course,” Kurt said, deciding not to mention that he’d been too scared to even explain the engagement situation to Blaine in an email. “Anyway, I’m sure they’re questions we should probably know about each other if we want people to think we’re married, so-”

“When was your wife’s last menstrual period?” Sebastian read, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah, this is important stuff.”

“OK, well maybe not that question,” Kurt said.

“What is your favorite position?” Sebastian continued loudly. “Missionary, doggy-style, _cow girl_ -”

Kurt grabbed the list of questions from Sebastian. “Fine,” he huffed. “Are you happy? You’ve made your point.”

Sebastian grinned. “I actually want to know the answer to that one.”

Kurt shot him a glare, and the two didn’t speak again until after the plane took off. When they were told to turn off all of their electronic devices, Kurt saw that he had no notifications on his phone. Blaine had not still not emailed him back.

-

The silence between the two of them became hard for Kurt to bear fairly quickly, and once the light above the seat advised them that they could turn their electronic devices back on, he took out his iPod.

“Hey,” said Sebastian. “Don’t put your headphones on.”

Kurt turned to look at him. “Are you kidding? Neither of us have said a word in over half an hour.”

Sebastian shrugged. “You’re the one who got all offended.”

Kurt let out a frustrated sigh and stuffed his iPod back into his bag. “Fine. What do you want to talk about?”

“Well,” Sebastian said, “even though you’re ridiculously paranoid about us being called in for a fraud interview, which I can absolutely assure you is not going to happen-”

“I can tell already that I don’t like this topic of conversation,” Kurt broke in.

“It _would_ be good for us to learn some basic details about each other, so your family buys this whole engagement thing,” Sebastian finished.

“What kind of basic details?”

“I don’t know, stuff about friends and family, likes and dislikes? Stuff actual fiancés would know.”

“I know all this stuff about you already. You have no friends, your family is rich and spoiled but they have good taste, I guess, since it seems like they hate you. You like caramel macchiatos and teasing fashion-challenged employees until they cry, and you dislike…” Kurt’s wit failed him, and he couldn’t think of anything.

“Dogs,” Sebastian supplied. “I fucking hate dogs. They’re loud and annoying and want your attention _all the time._ ”

Kurt narrowed his eyes. “Are you… a cat person?” he asked warily.

“I like cats,” Sebastian replied. “Does that make me a cat person?”

“I like cats, too,” Kurt said, surprised that they had something in common.

“We’re soulmates, clearly,” Sebastian said, rolling his eyes. “Anyway, you’ve got me mostly figured out, I suppose, but you’re wrong about my family. They adore me, actually, save for my uncle. My parents and I are very close.”

Kurt mentally checked off “cold, distant family” from his list of reasons why Sebastian might be so… well, _Sebastian_. “Do you have siblings?”

“No. And you don’t have any, besides your brother?”

“No, I’m an only child, too. Finn is my stepbrother.”

“Oh,” Sebastian said, sounding surprised. “Your parents are divorced?”

“My mom died when I was six,” Kurt explained. “My dad married Carole when I was in high school. Finn’s her son. We were in the same grade at school. We knew each other through glee club.”

“Oh yeah? I didn’t know you sang.”

“I’m good at it,” Kurt said. 

“I bet,” said Sebastian, smirking. “You must be great at all those castrato parts.”

“Do you want me to put my headphones on?” Kurt threatened. “Because I will.”

“Jesus, I was just joking,” Sebastian said. “I sang in my school’s glee club, too.”

“How nice for you.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Stop being a brat. We’re supposed to be sharing, right?”

“Fine,” Kurt said with a long-suffering sigh. “Tell me more about your glee club.” 

“There’s not much to tell,” Sebastian admitted. “We sang, we danced, I’m sure you know the drill.”

“My glee club won nationals my senior year,” Kurt couldn’t help but boast.

“Impressive. I doubt I will need to know this to convince your family we’re engaged, though.”

“You will, actually,” Kurt corrected him. “Because my _genius_ of a brother decided to invite our entire glee club to his wedding, even though he hasn’t talked to some of them in years, and most of them have multiple exes in the group.”

“Let me guess,” Sebastian said. “Blaine was in your glee club, too.”

“He was,” confirmed Kurt. “And Rachel, too. She actually dated Finn in high school. They were engaged.”

Sebastian frowned. “In high school?”

“Well, at least they were _dating_ when they got engaged,” Kurt said. “Unlike some people.”

“So all of these people are going to be at this wedding?”

Kurt shrugged. “I’m not sure, actually. Blaine will be there, and Rachel and I, and two other guys from the club are groomsmen as well, and my friends Mercedes and Santana are going to be there, I know…”

“All of your brother’s groomsmen are his friends from high school?”

“No, he has one guy he works with, too,” Kurt replied. “He’s lived in the same town his whole life, what do you expect?” If he sounded defensive, it was because most of Kurt’s wedding party, when he got married for real, would probably end up being full of his high school friends, too. Though he’d made a few good friends in college, he barely kept in touch with them now, and Rachel and Blaine had always been the people he spent most of his time with in New York. 

“I guess,” Sebastian said. “So is he marrying someone from your glee club, too?”

Kurt laughed. “Uh, no. Her name’s Kayla, he just met her a few years ago. I don’t know all that much about her, honestly. I’ve only met her four or five times.”

“So I won’t be expected to know much about her, then?”

“Nope, you’re safe there. She’s 23, she’s trying to become a nurse, and she has a lot of sisters. That’s about all I know.”

“Do you like her?”

Kurt shrugged. “I guess? She’s not really someone I would choose to be friends with, but she’s nice enough.”

“Such warm, loving feelings toward your future sister-in-law,” Sebastian joked.

“I”m sure I’ll get to know her better eventually,” Kurt said. “They’ve only been dating a few years, and I’ve been in New York the whole time, and we’ve all been pretty busy. I’m only in Ohio for holidays now, and sometimes not even then.”

“You can’t really act like you think a few years isn’t a long time to know each other before getting married anymore,” Sebastian told him. “Since we’ve only been dating for seven months.”

“Seven months?” Kurt asked. “I’ve only been single since March. We can’t say we’ve been dating since November.”

“OK, so when did we start dating?”

Kurt thought for a moment. “I guess we should say April,” he said. “God, they’re going to think I’ve lost my mind.”

“Only until they meet me and realize what a wonderful man you’ve managed to land,” Sebastian said with a grin. “How are we going to say it happened?”

“Alcohol,” Kurt replied. “Lots of it. That’s the only possible explanation.”

“Works for me,” Sebastian said. “A drunken night of passion leads to true love. It’s a wonderful story.”

Kurt frowned. “If you utter the phrase ‘drunken night of passion’ in front of my family, I swear…”

“Fine, we’ll make it a nice story. Maybe I’d liked you for ages, so when you were single I decided to ask you out, and you _thought_ you wouldn’t want to date anybody yet, but as it turns out, I’m incredibly charming. And also the love of your life.”

“I do have a history of romanticizing things,” Kurt admitted. “I guess they might believe that I actually think I love you.”

“That’s the spirit!. We’ll just make lots of googly eyes at each other.”

Kurt laughed. “Do you even have any experience to draw from here? I mean, you know my dating history, what’s yours?”

“Well, uh,” Sebastian started, scratching the back of his head, “I had a girlfriend in high school.”

“Oh, yeah? And how did that go?”

“About as well as you’d expect,” Sebastian replied. “She dumped me once she figured out I was only dating her so I could stare at her older brother.”

Kurt winced. “I think we all have embarrassing stories from high school,” he sympathized, thinking about how he had introduced his dad to Carole only to get closer to Finn. 

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “Who said I was embarrassed? Her brother was gay, too, so it worked out pretty well for everyone.”

“Except for the girl, I imagine?” Kurt asked.

“We were 15, Kurt, it’s not like we were in a serious relationship.”

Kurt sighed. “Let me guess, her hot older brother was your next romantic interest?”

“Well,” Sebastian said with a smirk, “if _romantic interest_ is what you want to call spending a few months f-”

“I get it,” Kurt insisted, holding up a hand. “No need for details. Just… please tell me you’ve _actually_ dated someone before?”

“Why does it matter?”

“Because if you’ve never even been a boyfriend, how are you supposed to be able to act like a fiancé?” asked Kurt.

“I figured being your fiancé would mostly just involve me keeping you supplied with gin and not commenting on your women’s wear,” Sebastian replied. “Oh, right, and _holding hands_.” 

“Are you embarrassed that you’ve never had a boyfriend?” Kurt teased. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Sebastian. I mean, I don’t know any other 26-year-olds who haven’t reached this particular milestone yet, but-”

“I’ve had a boyfriend, OK?” Sebastian snapped. 

Kurt was delighted to have finally irritated him. “And how much did you pay him?”

“Ha, ha,” Sebastian said. “Andrew’s family had more money than mine, actually. I’m really slumming it with you, sweetheart.”

“That makes two of us,” Kurt muttered. “So come on, details. I imagine it wasn’t terribly serious?”

“It lasted three years,” Sebastian said, shrugging. 

Kurt was surprised by that. Though he hadn’t been convinced that Sebastian had never had a boyfriend, three years did sound pretty serious. “That’s a long time. Was that… recently?”

“Nah, it was while I was getting my undergrad degree at Columbia. It’s been four or five years since we broke up.”

Kurt tried to imagine Sebastian with this faceless Andrew, kissing, holding hands, smiling at each other, sharing a bed. It wasn’t easy. “What happened?”

“Get ready to clutch your pearls,” Sebastian warned. “I cheated on him.”

Kurt sighed and flopped back against his seat. “Of course you did. I’m marrying a cheater.”

Sebastian snorted. “I knew you’d like that. Are we done sharing now?” he asked, turning his gaze to the window.

“You were the one who wanted to start in the first place,” Kurt pointed out. He tried to think of any other essential details he’d need to know about Sebastian, but Kurt had picked up a lot of his boss’s life story from conversations they’d had in the past seven months. There was one thing still bugging him about this whole situation, though. “Actually, I have one more question.”

“Yes, the guy I cheated with was hotter,” Sebastian replied without looking away from the window. 

Kurt rolled his eyes. “About the whole… marriage thing.”

“No, you’re not hotter than either of them.”

Kurt wasn’t deterred. “Why do you want to stay in the country so badly? What’s the point? You don’t have a job, your family lives in France, you don’t have a boyfriend, or seem to have any close friends here… but there must be _something_ keeping you here.”

Sebastian stared out the window for another moment before turning to Kurt and sighing. “I know you’re probably looking for big, dramatic reason, or a sob story, or whatever,” he said, “but there isn’t one. I just like it here. I don’t want to leave.”

“You’re going through all of this trouble because you _like it here_?” Kurt asked in disbelief. “It’s not like France is a third world country, Sebastian.”

“Obviously,” snapped Sebastian. “I have no problem with France. It’s just that…. New York feels like home to me, in a way that Paris never did, even when I was a kid.”

“Oh.” That was something that Kurt could understand. New York was _his_ home, too, even after only five years. Kurt had known that he didn’t belong in Lima from a very young age, and he couldn’t imagine being forced to leave the city he loved and returning to Ohio indefinitely. “Yeah,” Kurt said eventually. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”

-

The rest of the flight passed with no more conversation between the two of them. Kurt almost didn’t want to leave the comfortable seats and doting flight attendants when the plane landed, and he was already looking forward to their flight home the next week. After a short wait at baggage claim and the rental car counter, Kurt drove them toward Lima while Sebastian mocked his driving skills and constantly switched radio stations.

“We’re going to my brother’s place first,” Kurt told Sebastian as they got closer. “I told him we’d stop by. You can meet him and Kayla, then we’ll go to my parents’ house.”

“Sounds absolutely delightful.”

“Yeah, well, you’re the one who wanted to come,” Kurt said as he pulled into Finn and Kayla’s apartment complex.. “So be on your best behavior. Make them believe you’re good enough for me.”

Sebastian laughed. “Shouldn’t be too hard.”

-

In retrospect, Kurt would admit that it probably would have been a good idea to give Sebastian a little bit more background information on his father. It might have been beneficial for Sebastian to know that Burt Hummel was 1) a US congressman, and 2) very protective of his son. To be fair, Kurt had not expected to see Burt and Carole at Finn’s apartment.

During the flurry of excited introductions, Burt had stepped up to Sebastian and introduced himself, in a rather unfriendly manner, as Representative Burt Hummel. Sebastian shook his hand while sending Kurt a confused glance. 

“It’s, uh, nice to meet you, sir,” Sebastian said to Burt. “Kurt speaks very highly of you.”

“Does he?” Burt asked. “He doesn’t speak very highly of you at all.”

“Dad!” Kurt cried. Sebastian, Carole, Finn, and Kayla all looked terrified.

“What?” Burt asked. “All I’ve heard you say are terrible things about how he doesn’t treat you right, makes you work crazy hours, only cares about himself, and now all of a sudden you’re bringing him home as your date? I don’t get it, Kurt.”

“We’ve had our issues, sir,” Sebastian said, “but that’s all in the past.”

“I talked to Kurt about it last week,” Burt replied. “It ain’t that far in the past.”

“We were fighting last week,” Kurt interjected. “I was just being melodramatic.”

Burt kept his glare trained on Sebastian. “Do you make a habit of dating your assistants?”

“Er… no,” Sebastian replied. “No, not at all, this was… unexpected. And, actually, I’m not going to be his boss anymore, so…”

“Why not?”

“Well, I got fired,” Sebastian admitted. 

“Fired,” Burt echoed, shaking his head. “Gee, I wonder why. Kurt, I really think-”

“Shush, honey,” Carole broke in, patting Burt’s arm. “Be nice! We’re all happy to meet you, Sebastian. It’s just been a long time since Burt’s been able to intimidate a new boyfriend of Kurt’s. He’s missed it!” Everyone except Burt laughed, and Kurt shot Carole a grateful look. “Honestly, though,” she continued, “we know Kurt’s capable of making his own decisions. He’s a smart young man, and he’s got great judgement.” She gave Sebastian a wink, and he responded with a weak smile.

Kayla chose that exact moment to take notice of the ring on Kurt’s finger. He had forgotten to remove it after wearing it to the office that morning. “Oh my god,” she said, closing the distance between then and grabbing Kurt’s left hand to examine it closer. “Is that an engagement ring?”

The silence seemed to stretch on for hours as Kurt’s family stared at him and Sebastian in shock. This wasn’t how Kurt had wanted to break the news, but there was no point in delaying the inevitable anymore.

“Uh, yes,” Kurt eventually croaked. He felt Sebastian take hold of his right hand. “Yes,” he repeated after clearing his throat. “Sebastian and I are getting married.”


	8. Chapter 8

The silence after Kurt’s announcement seemed to stretch on for hours.

“You’re… engaged,” Burt said finally. “To _this_ guy?”

“Burt!” Carole exclaimed, smacking his arm.. “That’s… wonderful, sweetie.”

“It’s not wonderful,” Burt grunted. “It’s insane. Is this a joke?”

“No,” Kurt said. Sebastian squeezed his hand. “Dad, I know it’s fast, but-”

Burt snorted. “Fast? It’s _beyond_ fast, Kurt. And it’s your boss. What are you thinking?”

“Well, as I said, sir,” Sebastian started, “I’m not going to be his boss anymore, and-”

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Burt snapped. 

“Dad,” Kurt pleaded, “please don’t…”

“I think it’s great,” Finn broke in. “You’re getting married! That’s awesome.” He walked over to Kurt, arms open, and Sebastian dropped his hand just before Finn engulfed him in a gigantic hug. 

“Um… thanks, Finn,” Kurt said, patting Finn’s back. “I didn’t want to tell you guys yet, because it’s your wedding, you know? And I didn’t want to steal your thunder at all, but-”

“Oh, it’s fine,” replied Finn, releasing Kurt from his grasp. “It’s no big deal, right babe?”

“No, of course not,” Kayla answered. Kurt searched her face for any traces of anger, but she looked legitimately happy for him. “So if you’ve got the ring, does that mean he proposed?” Kurt nodded. “How did he do it? When was it?”

“Just yesterday, actually,” Kurt said. “He, uh, took me to the top of the Empire State Building, because, um, we have this sort of inside joke, and… yeah,” he trailed off, unsure of what else to say. “It was nice.”

“Aww,” Carole cooed.

Kayla sighed. “That sounds so romantic,” she said, turning to Finn. “He proposed to me on your parents’ porch.”

“It was romantic!” Finn insisted, giving her blond ponytail a gentle tug. “Don’t act like you didn’t love it.”

“I did love it,” she admitted with a smile. “But it’s no Empire State Building.”

Kurt was starting to relax, now that his dad wasn’t interrogating him anymore, and he felt comfortable enough to try and own his role. “Well,” he said, leaning into Sebastian’s side, “Sebastian here is quite the romantic.”

“Guilty as charged,” Sebastian said, grinning down at Kurt and wrapping an arm around his waist.

“Hey, I get to be your best man, right?” Finn asked. “This is so cool.”

“Well…” Kurt trailed off. He knew his family wouldn’t actually be included in his wedding at all, but he didn’t know how to tell Finn that without making him feel unimportant.

“Dude, I _have_ to be your best man,” Finn said, sounding distraught. “I made you mine! Who else would it be?!”

“You, it would be you, of course,” Kurt said quickly. “I just don’t know if we’re having a traditional wedding, that’s all.”

Carole looked surprised. “You don’t want a traditional wedding?”

“Well, um… we probably will have one,” Kurt said. “I just… don’t want to make any promises. We haven’t made any plans yet at all.”

“Kurt, can I talk to you, please?” Burt asked. “Alone?”

“Dad, whatever you want to say to me, you can-”

“Kurt,” repeated Burt, “ _now_.” 

Kurt sighed and stepped away from Sebastian, but not before Sebastian gave his shoulder a squeeze. Burt had retreated into the kitchen, motioning for Kurt to follow, and as Kurt headed in that direction, he saw Finn give Sebastian a bruising hug of his own.

“You’re like my _brother_ now, man,” Kurt heard Finn exclaim. “Welcome to the family.”

Kurt didn’t hear Sebastian’s reply. Burt flicked on the kitchen light and leaned against the counter. After a minute, he sighed.

“Kurt, can you tell me what’s really going on here?”

“I told you already,” Kurt said, avoiding his father’s eyes. “I’ve been dating Sebastian, and he’s really great, and he proposed yesterday. Like I said, I wasn’t quite ready to tell you guys yet, because of the wedding, and I knew you’d think it was too fast, but-”

“Kurt,” Burt interrupted, sounding a bit more gentle, “come on. It hasn’t even been three months since you and Blaine broke up.”

Kurt looked at the floor. He wasn’t really interested in talking about Blaine at the moment. It was scary enough thinking about seeing him in a few days and trying to explain that he was engaged to Sebastian. “Blaine and I were over a long time before we actually ended it,” Kurt explained. 

“Yeah?” Burt asked. “Because you guys were getting along fine at Christmas.”

“Of course we were,” snapped Kurt. “We get along fine _now_. That wasn’t our problem.”

“Then what was your problem?”

“Dad, I really don’t want to talk about this right now,” Kurt said. “This isn’t about Blaine, anyway.”

“Like hell it’s not,” Burt scoffed. “Kurt, if you’re still so broken up over Blaine that you can’t talk about him, do you really think it’s a good idea to get engaged to someone else? How long have you even been seeing each other? You haven’t mentioned it to me.”

“I didn’t want to mention anything until it was… something worth mentioning,” Kurt sputtered.

“It wasn’t worth mentioning until you got _engaged_?”

“We’ve been seeing each other since April,” Kurt said. “I didn’t mention it to you because I knew you wouldn’t like that I was dating my boss, and so soon after I broke up with Blaine, and I just didn’t want a lecture.”

“You could have used the lecture,” Burt replied. “Marriage is a big deal, Kurt. Hell, you dated Blaine for six years and never got engaged.”

“That’s because we were never going to,” Kurt snapped. “Look, I know it doesn’t make sense to you, but Sebastian and I just… work, OK? I know we’re going to be fine. I know this is the right thing to do. It feels right.” Kurt desperately hoped that his father would not be petty enough to throw these words back in his face when he got divorced in a few years.

“Look, Kurt, I know you’re still hurting.”

“I’m not,” Kurt insisted. He was feeling a lot of things at that moment, but pain was not one of them. He was apprehensive, sure, uneasy about lying to his family and friends and breaking the law, but he wasn’t actively hurting. 

“Well, whether you are or not,” Burt said, “I’m just worried that you’re not thinking straight right now. You were in a relationship for so long that ended up not being what you expected, and now you’re replacing what you had with this new relationship. Blaine didn’t want to marry you, but here’s a guy who does. That doesn’t mean you have to marry him, though, Kurt.”

“I know, Dad,” Kurt said. He was starting to feel horrible about lying. “I know I don’t _have_ to, and yeah, maybe it’s stupid. But it does feel right to me. We’re good together. Give him a chance?”

Burt sighed. “He’s good to you?”

“He is,” confirmed Kurt, trying not to think about all of the hell Sebastian had put him through in the past seven months. “I think you’ll like him if you get to know him.” 

“How come he’s getting fired? Is it because he’s dating you?” 

“No, not at all. He was only hired on a trial basis by his uncle,” Kurt explained. “His trial period is over at the end of the month, and his uncle doesn’t want to keep him.”

“Fired by his own uncle,” mused Burt. “He must suck at his job.” 

Kurt laughed. “He does.” 

That made Burt smile. “I suppose I can give him a chance.” 

Kurt breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you,” he said, stepping forward to give his dad a quick hug. “It means a lot.” 

“Kurt, you know I only want what’s best for you,” Burt said as they broke apart. 

“I know.” 

“And I’m not even going to ask if this is about his money…”

“Dad!” Kurt exclaimed. “Of course it’s not.” 

“But he does have a lot?” 

Kurt laughed. “ _A lot_ is an understatement. Um, can I go save him from Finn now? He’s probably terrified.” 

“OK,” Burt said, laughing. “Go rescue your fiancé.”

Kurt walked back out into the living room to find Sebastian seated on the couch between Carole and Kayla, looking uncomfortable. Finn was in an armchair off to the side. Kurt assumed they’d all been eavesdropping. Sebastian stood up when he spotted Kurt.

“Everything good?” he asked quietly, walking over to meet him. 

“Yeah,” Kurt replied. “I took care of it.” 

Sebastian breathed a sigh of relief. “Your dad’s kind of scary.”

Kurt laughed. “He’s not so bad once you get to know him.”

“So,” Burt’s voice called out from behind Kurt. Sebastian jumped back, putting some distance between them. “I know Finn and Kayla have plans tonight, and we were just on our way out. How about you and Sebastian let us take you out to dinner?”

Sebastian looked terrified. “Well, actually, sir, I wanted to take Kurt-”

“Kurt’s here to visit his family,” Burt said, narrowing his eyes at Sebastian. “He sees you all the time.”

“Right,” Sebastian said. “Of course, I didn’t mean…”

“We’ll go,” Kurt said. “Breadstix?” 

“Yeah,” replied Burt. “We’ll meet you guys there.”

-

After saying their goodbyes to Finn and Kayla, Kurt and Sebastian followed Kurt’s parents out to the parking lot. Sebastian waited until Burt and Carole had climbed into their car before turning to Kurt.

“What is _wrong_ with you?” he growled.

Kurt wasn’t sure what he was referring to. “Um…?”

“Why didn’t you tell me your dad’s a congressman? Or that he’s so fucking terrifying?”

“Well,” Kurt said, “I actually didn’t think he’d be at my brother’s apartment.”

“So you were planning on warning me on our way to your parents’ house?”

Kurt shrugged. “Maybe?”

“God, this is going _awful_ ,” Sebastian groaned, leaning against their rental car. “They hate me!”

“Only my dad hates you,” Kurt corrected him. “Finn loved you, and Kayla and Carole think you’re charming and romantic.”

Sebastian sighed. “How can I get your dad to like me?”

“Um… just be nice to me? I know it’s terribly difficult for you, but-”

“Oh, shut up,” Sebastian snapped. “I can be nice.”

“Why does it matter whether or not my dad likes you?” Kurt asked. “It’s not like he can actually stop me from marrying you.”

“Kurt,” Sebastian said, exasperated, “he works for the _government_. The very same government that I am trying to defraud right now. If he doesn’t like me, and he starts snooping around, and figures out that I’m from France and that my visa is expiring…”

“Oh my god,” Kurt groaned. “And you think _I’m_ paranoid? I promise you, my father is not going to ‘snoop around’ to find background information on you. He just thinks it’s weird that I would agree to marry you so soon.”

Sebastian breathed out a sigh of relief. “Well, that’s only because he doesn’t know wonderful I am yet.”

Kurt snorted. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s it.”

“This dinner’s going to be awkward.”

“Probably,” Kurt agreed. “Just be polite and act like you’re in love. And, um, don’t make fun of this place, OK? It’s silly, but it’s sort of their idea of fine dining here in Lima.”

“I don’t know, a place called Breadstix can’t be anything _but_ classy,” Sebastian teased.

“That’s right,” Kurt encouraged, opening the passenger door for Sebastian and gesturing for him to get inside. “Get it all out of your system now.”

-

“It’s Breadstix with an X?” Sebastian asked in disbelief a few minutes later as they headed toward the restaurant’s entrance. “An _X_? I hope you appreciate how painful this is for me, Kurt.”

“Your life is very difficult,” Kurt agreed. “One day, your story of perseverance despite so much suffering will be written down so it can inspire the world.”

“An _X_ ,” Sebastian repeated, pushing open the door and holding it for Kurt.

“Hey, boys,” Carole greeted them once they walked into the entryway. “Ready to sit down?”

“Yep,” Sebastian said, flashing her a bright grin. “This place looks _amazing_.”

Kurt glanced at his father to gauge his reaction. Burt did not look impressed.

“Oh,” Carole laughed, waving an arm. “It’s nothing special. I know you’re probably used to much fancier places, but unfortunately, Lima’s not exactly a mecca of fine dining.”

“Honestly, this looks fine,” Sebastian insisted. “I’m not a snob.”

Kurt tried to disguise his laugh with a cough, but he wasn’t very successful. 

“I’m not,” Sebastian said, affronted. “ _You_ , on the other hand…” 

“Hey, I didn’t say anything,” Kurt said, giving Sebastian an innocent smile. “I was just clearing my throat.”

Carole shook her head, grinning fondly at the two of them. “All right, boys,” she said, “Let’s go sit down. Come on, Burt,” she added, looking over her shoulder to where her husband was watching the scene with a raised eyebrow.

Sebastian and Kurt managed to get through the meal without any major slip-ups. Burt stayed quiet, but Carole kept the conversation going with a lot of questions about Sebastian’s family. Kurt was worried that Sebastian might get annoyed, but he was very patient as he talked about the media empire that his grandfather created and his family now controlled. Things did get a bit uncomfortable when Carole started asking about wedding plans.

“Has he told you that he planned our whole wedding in a few days?” she asked Sebastian. “It was amazing. Kurt, do you have any ideas on what you’re going to do?”

“Not yet,” Kurt said. “Like I told Finn, this is just… really new, so we haven’t thought about it much.”

Carole laughed. “Well, I know you have no _specific_ plans yet, but come on, I know you’ve been planning your wedding since you were a kid. No hints?”

“Well,” Kurt said, picturing the courthouse he’d be getting married in the next week, “It will be in the city, definitely.”

“You’re going to make everyone travel to New York?” Burt asked.

“Not _everyone_ ,” Kurt said. “It will probably only be family and close friends. And it’s not like we can have it here, Dad. It’s not legal.”

“Right,” Burt said, chagrined. “Sorry. 

The awkward silence was broken by Sebastian’s phone ringing. Sebastian checked to see who was calling, then said, “I have to take this, sorry, it’s about work,” as he stood up.

“Why do you have to take it?” Kurt asked, grabbing Sebastian’s arm in an attempt to pull him back down. Kurt could tell that Burt was waiting for Sebastian to leave so he could interrogate Kurt further about their relationship, and Kurt really was not interested in having that conversation again. 

“Because it’s important,” Sebastian said, wrestling his arm free. “I’ll just be a few minutes.” The phone stopped ringing, and he cursed under his breath.

“Guess you missed it,” Kurt said. “Oh, well.”

“I’m going to call her back,” Sebastian replied. “It’s Wendy, I told her to call me about setting up a shoot for next week.”

“Why do you care if the shoot gets set up?” Kurt asked. He mostly just didn’t want Sebastian to leave him to an awkward conversation with his father, but Kurt was also genuinely curious. The day before, Sebastian had had a lot to say about how little he cared about his last issue of the magazine. It was his reasoning for taking off with Kurt without giving more than 24 hours notice of his vacation. “You were fired, right? So you can relax about it.” 

Sebastian looked uncomfortable. “Well, uh, it’s about that feature… the really important one, remember? That we definitely wanted to get into the magazine before I leave?” 

“Oh!” Kurt exclaimed, finally realizing that Sebastian was trying to prepare for the feature on Kurt’s designs. “Right, of course. You should call her back, definitely.”

Sebastian smirked. “Yeah, thought so.” He turned to Kurt’s parents. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “I’ll be just a minute.”

“So what’s the feature on?” Carole asked as soon as Sebastian walked away. Before Kurt could make up an answer, Burt asked a question of his own.

“Is this about making Blaine jealous? Is that what you’re trying to do?”

Kurt frowned. “You think I would get engaged to make Blaine _jealous_?” 

“I’d hope not,” Burt said. “But I know something’s not right here, and I know that this is the first time you’ll be seeing Blaine since he broke up with you, and I could understand if you wanted to show up with someone new, make him regret-”

“I already told you this has nothing to do with Blaine,” Kurt interrupted. “I don’t want to make him regret anything. I just want to go to my brother’s wedding with Sebastian.”

“The guy you’re marrying,” Burt elaborated.

“Yes,” replied Kurt.

“The love of your life.”

“Mhm.” 

“Who happens to be your boss, and who you’ve only been dating for two and a half months.”

“Burt,” Carole interjected. “Do we really have to do this here?”

Sebastian slid back into the booth then. “Sorry about that,” he said again.

“Did you get everything sorted?” Kurt asked.

“Yeah, it should be all set.” The table fell silent for a minute before Sebastian continued. “So, uh… what’s good for dessert here?”

“The cheesecake,” Kurt replied immediately. 

Sebastian laughed. “Of course.” 

“Split a piece with me?” Kurt asked him. 

“I don’t really like cheesecake, actually,” Sebastian said. “Why don’t you get a piece of your own?”

Kurt stared at him in _disbelief._ “You don’t like cheesecake? Well, that’s it,” he replied. “The wedding’s off.” Sebastian and Carole laughed. 

“The chocolate cake is really good, too,“ Carole told Sebastian. “If you like chocolate.”

“I do,” Sebastian said, smiling at her. “I think I’ll try that.”

“You don’t deserve dessert,” Kurt said. “Honestly, who doesn’t like cheesecake?”

“Lots of people,” Sebastian pointed out. “And I spent all day traveling with you, so don’t tell me I don’t deserve dessert.”

Kurt glanced over at his parents. Carole seemed amused by their exchange, but Burt was frowning. “I’m an _excellent_ travel companion,” Kurt said, trying to keep the mood light. 

“Yeah,” Sebastian replied. “You’re right. I really enjoyed dragging your suitcase around for you.”

“Hey, you offered to do that.” Of course, Sebastian’s offer had been sarcastic, and Kurt had only said yes to annoy him, but still. The offer had been extended.

“Is there any way we can order these desserts to go?” Burt asked, interrupting their squabble. Carole still looked amused.

Sebastian’s demeanor immediately changed. He sat up straight in the booth and made eye contact with Burt. “Of course, sir,” he said. “That’s a good idea, actually. Kurt and I should get going if we’re going to find a hotel.”

“A hotel?” Carole asked. “You’re not staying at the house?”

Kurt hadn’t even thought to discuss this with Sebastian. Kurt always stayed with his parents when he was home, whether Blaine was with him or not, so he’d just assumed that’s what would be happening this time as well. A hotel probably was a better idea, considering their situation, but Kurt knew Burt would find that even more suspicious.

“Oh,” Sebastian said, looking surprised. “Well, um, I just… you guys don’t know me, you know, so I don’t want to be an imposition.”

“You won’t be at all,” Carole said. 

“Kurt always stays with us when he’s home,” Burt added. 

“Right,” Sebastian replied. “Of course.”

“Which, by the way, he hardly ever is anymore, because of all the work you’ve been having him do. So when he’s here, I like to see him as much as possible.”

“There aren’t any decent hotels in town, anyway,” Carole interjected. “You’d have to go 20 minutes, at least, which is silly. We have plenty of room.”

“Maybe Sebastian doesn’t want to stay at our house,” Burt said. “Maybe he doesn’t think it’s up to his standards.”

All of the color drained from Sebastian’s face. 

“Dad, stop it,” Kurt warned. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“That really isn’t it,” Sebastian insisted. “I just didn’t want to be in the way. I know it’s a busy week with the wedding, and stuff, and I thought maybe you had other relatives staying with you, or… yeah, so, really, I would love to stay in your house,” he babbled. “That sounds great. Excellent.” 

Kurt bit his lip to keep from laughing at Sebastian’s desperate attempt to placate his father. “We should have discussed this before,” Kurt said after a minute. “Sorry for causing any confusion.”

“It’s no problem,” said Carole, giving the boys a bright smile. “Right, honey?” she asked Burt. When he didn’t immediately respond, she elbowed him.

“Right,” Burt finally grunted. 

Kurt and Sebastian ordered their dessert to go. It probably would have been better to skip dessert and immediately escape to their own vehicle to give Sebastian a break from Burt’s constant scrutiny, but by that point, Kurt _really_ needed cheesecake. Sebastian told Burt and Carole they could get going if they wanted, so they wouldn’t have to wait for the dessert to arrive, but Kurt managed to stop him before he offered to pay for the meal. Kurt knew that wouldn’t have gone over well with his father.

When they finally left the restaurant, clutching their styrofoam takeout containers, Sebastian only just waited until Kurt’s parents were out of earshot before he started complaining.

“Oh my god,” he moaned, “This is such a fucking disaster. What is _with_ your dad?”

“He’s just being protective,” Kurt said, feeling defensive. His dad _was_ being terribly rude, but Kurt knew it was because he cared.

“I can’t be any nicer than I’m being,” Sebastian said as they approached their car. “I’ve reached my limit. I don’t understand.”

“He’ll get over it,” Kurt assured him, pulling the keys out of his pocket and hitting the button to unlock the doors. “He’s only known you for a few hours! It’s not like you’re not used to people hating you, anyway.” 

Sebastian sighed and pulled open his door. “This is not going well at all.”

“I can’t believe you expected it to,” Kurt replied. He walked around to the driver’s side and got in. “You know, it didn’t help that you told them you wanted to stay in a hotel.”

“Why _wouldn’t_ I want to stay in a hotel?”

“Do you stay in a hotel when you visit your parents?” Kurt asked.

“Well, no,” Sebastian said, “But that’s because-”

“They own a beautiful mansion, I _know_ ,” Kurt finished, turning the key in the ignition. 

“Uh, _no_ ,” Sebastian said. “Because they don’t _hate me_. I feel so uncomfortable around your dad, Kurt. I don’t even know why he wants me in his house for this long.” 

Kurt sighed. “I’m sorry. I know my dad’s being rude,” he said, “But I promise you it’s not actually you he’s mad at. He’s annoyed with me, and I know by the end of the week he’ll be just as enamored with you as I… well, as…” he trailed off, feeling awkward about the slip up. 

“As enamored with me as you are?” Sebastian teased. 

“As enamored with you as I’m _meant_ to be,” corrected Kurt. He gave Sebastian a small smile as he put the car into drive. “We’re in trouble if he only ends up liking you as much as I do.”

-

Once they arrived at the house and Sebastian spent a few uncomfortable minutes complimenting every aspect of the kitchen as they ate their dessert at the table, Kurt managed to convince Burt and Carole they were ready for bed. 

“It’s been a long day,” he explained. “I know it’s early, but we’re exhausted.”

“Of course,” Carole said. “Your room’s all set up already, you guys can go ahead.”

“Thanks,” Kurt said, getting up and giving Carole a hug. “We’ll see you guys in the morning?”

“Yep,” she replied. “Do you guys need any help getting your luggage upstairs?”

“No, thank you,” Sebastian said, getting up from his seat. “We’ve got it.”

“OK,” she said. “Good night, boys.”

After they had all exchanged good nights, Kurt grabbed his suitcase and carry on bag and led Sebastian up the stairs to his old bedroom. Once they were inside, Sebastian shut the door behind them and leaned back against it, exhaling. 

“Thank you,” he said to Kurt, “for convincing your parents that eight p.m. is a totally respectable time for us to go to bed.”

“Well, I was enjoying watching you suffer,” Kurt said, “but the awkwardness isn’t super fun for me, either.”

“Your stepmom’s really nice.”

“She is,” Kurt agreed. “I’m sure she’s as confused by my actions as my dad is, but she’s polite enough not to take it out on you.”

Sebastian glanced over at the bed. “So, since we’re not staying in a hotel, I guess they would think it was weird if I wanted to stay in another room?”

“Yeah. You’re stuck in here, sorry,” Kurt said. 

“I don’t really want to share a bed with you,” Sebastian replied. 

“Who said we’re sharing a bed?” Kurt asked. “You’re sleeping on the floor.”

Sebastian’s jaw dropped. Kurt couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m joking, Sebastian,” he said. “I’m a benevolent dictator. You can share the bed.”

“You’re enjoying this way too much,” Sebastian complained as he opened up his suitcase.

While Kurt was enjoying making Sebastian squirm at every opportunity, this day had not been great for him as a whole. “Yeah, I’m having a great time upsetting my family, you’re right. Look, there’s enough room on the bed so that we shouldn’t have to… touch.”

“Fine,” Sebastian muttered. “I still don’t understand why a hotel was out of the question.”

“Like they said, I always stay here,” Kurt said with a shrug. “It would be weird if I insisted on staying at a hotel.”

“This _room_ is weird,” was Sebastian’s response. “Was this how it looked when you were in high school?”

“Yes.”

“I was expecting it to be covered in Backstreet Boys posters,” Sebastian joked.

“You think I had Backstreet Boys posters in high school?” asked Kurt, his eyebrows knitted in confusion. “Exactly how old do you think I am?”

Sebastian ignored him. “Where’s the bathroom?” he asked. “I want to get changed.”

“Down the hall, second door on your right.” Sebastian nodded and opened the door to leave the bedroom, holding some clothes in his hand. “And your pajamas better have full coverage!”

-

The next morning, Kurt was brought into consciousness by an incessant poking in his chest. He attempted to give the offender a light smack, but he rolled away from Kurt as soon as his arm was lifted.

“What are you _doing_?” Kurt asked irritably, his arm falling back to the bed. 

“What am _I_ doing? You were the one all over me.”

Kurt’s eyes shot open. That was not Blaine’s voice. “Oh my god.”

“I’ve been trying to wake you up for like 10 minutes,” Sebastian said, narrowing his eyes. “You said this bed was big enough so we wouldn’t have to touch!”

“Oh, get over it,” Kurt snapped, trying to sound angry instead of embarrassed. “My arm was around you, it’s not like I was humping you in my sleep.”

“It was still entirely inappropriate and also against our terms,” Sebastian insisted, extricating himself from underneath the sheets and sitting up on the bed. 

“We never discussed sleeping arrangements in our terms.”

“Well, fine, I’m putting it in the terms now,” Sebastian said. “No touching me while I’m sleeping. It’s creepy.”

“Fine,” Kurt grumbled, kicking his covers off. “Then maybe tonight you can sleep on the floor.”

Sebastian smirked. “It’s really that difficult to keep your hands off of me, huh?”

“I can’t control what I do when I’m asleep,” muttered Kurt. He got out of the bed and headed toward his suitcase to grab his shower supplies.

“You know,” Sebastian began as he rifled through his own suitcase, “I never took you for a cuddler.”

“I’m not a cuddler,” Kurt replied. “But I slept with one for six years, and it started to rub off on me.”

“How about we not talk about rubbing anything off right now?” Sebastian asked. “I’m traumatized enough as it is.”

“Are you 14?” Kurt asked. “Am I marrying a 14-year-old?”

Sebastian shrugged. “Why, is that something you would be into?”

“I’m not even going to dignify that with a response,” Kurt said. “I’m showering.”

“Uh, not happening, sweetheart,” Sebastian replied, grabbing some clothes and a toiletry bag from his suitcase. “Based on your nighttime skincare regimen last night, I can only imagine your morning routine takes three hours. I’m showering first.” Kurt started to argue, but Sebastian continued. “You spent all night _cuddling_ with me, remember? I have to wash you off of me as soon as possible.”

Kurt considered throwing his shampoo at Sebastian, but he had disappeared out the bedroom door before Kurt could decide if it was worth the money that would be wasted if he broke the bottle.

-

“So,” Carole said as they sat down to breakfast a little while later, “it sounded like you boys were having a good time this morning.”

“What?” Kurt asked, looking up from the bagel he was buttering. “I don’t what you mean.”

“She’s uh, probably referring to that adorable thing you did where you were hitting me repeatedly with your pillow,” Sebastian said. “Remember, dear?”

“Oh,” Kurt said, embarrassed. “Sorry, was it that loud?”

“You had a pillow fight?” Burt asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It wasn’t really a _fight_ ,” Sebastian said. “More like a vicious attack. I didn’t even have a pillow.”

Kurt sighed. “He bothered me while I was in the bathroom getting ready,” he explained to his parents. He left out the part about how he was only wearing his underwear and had been incredibly embarrassed. “He deserved it.”

Carole laughed, and even Burt looked amused. 

“So,” Kurt said after a minute. “What are the plans for today?”

“We’re both working,” Carole said. “I have off tomorrow, but you boys are on your own today, I guess.”

“I was thinking you could come to the shop with me,” Burt said to Kurt. “Finn’s off until after his honeymoon, so I’m going in to help out.”

“You want Sebastian and I to sit in the shop all day watching you work?”

“Well, you could help out. Show Sebastian what you can do.”

“Dad, I’m on vacation,” Kurt said. “I’m not going to work.” Mostly, Kurt doesn’t want Sebastian and his dad in the same building all day. Sebastian’s been worked up enough as it is. “We can stop by, though. I’ll show him around. Then maybe we’ll see if Finn and Kayla need help with any wedding stuff. I’ve got to pick up some stuff for the bachelor party tomorrow.”

“Oh, Finn’s going to be so excited,” Carole said, clapping her hands together. “He knows about the dinner reservations, and that we booked a fancy suite in Dayton, but he doesn’t know it’s for us. He really thinks you’re dragging him there for the bachelor party.”

“Where is the actual bachelor party?” Sebastian asked.

“Here,” Kurt replied. “It’s not going to be a huge, fancy party, but it’s what Finn wants. I just wanted there to be _some_ element of surprise.”

“He’ll be surprised,” Burt confirmed. “We’ll have our stuff packed and in the car so we can leave right from the rehearsal dinner, and you guys can all come right back here.”

“That should work out great. And you’ll be back early the next morning?”

“Definitely,” Carole said. “God only knows how much help they’re going to need setting up all the stuff at Kayla’s parents’ house.”

“That’s where the wedding is,” Kurt explained to Sebastian. “Her parents have a lot of land, so the wedding’s going to be outside.”

“Hopefully the weather’s not too bad,” Carole said. “Anyway, I’ve got to get going. I’ll see you guys tonight.”

“I’m leaving in a few minutes, too,” Burt said. “Feel free to stop by the shop whenever.”

-

“So you actually know how to fix cars,” Sebastian mused, looking around the tire shop a few hours later. Kurt had called Finn to see if he and Kayla needed any help with the wedding prep, but Finn had said they were fine, so Kurt had decided to get the trip to the shop over with.

“Well, mostly just the basic stuff,” Kurt said. “But I know my way around the inside of a car, yes.”

“That’s impressive,” Sebastian replied. Kurt waited for a joke to follow, but it didn’t happen. “I don’t know anything about cars. Granted, I don’t drive much, but still.”

Kurt shrugged. “I only know because my dad had me work with him a lot when I was a kid. I definitely wouldn’t know much otherwise.”

“Yeah, well, I know _literally_ nothing,” Sebastian said. “I got a flat tire once and had no idea what to do. This lady who was no taller than five feet pulled over and changed my tire all by herself.”

Kurt laughed. “That’s a wonderful image. I like picturing you as a damsel in distress.”

“It’s not a good look for me. I was so embarrassed.”

“So do you know how to change a tire now?” Kurt asked.

“Nope,” Sebastian answered. “There’s a reason I live in New York.”

Kurt’s phone rang then, and a glance at the display told him Finn was calling. “Hey,” he said when he answered the call. “What’s up?”

“Well, you know how you asked me if I had anything you guys could help me with today?” Finn asked.

“Yeah, did you think of something?”

“Sort of. Kayla’s mom was looking at the weather forecast for this weekend, and apparently there’s a pretty good chance of rain Saturday evening.”

“Huh,” Kurt said. “Are you guys having a tent set up, or…?”

“We hadn’t planned on it,” Finn replied.

“So what was your plan for if it rained?”

“Mostly our plan was to hope it was a nice day,” Finn said. 

Kurt sighed. “So what is it that you want me to do?”

“We’re kinda busy today helping her family with food stuff, and we have to go get the marriage license, so I was wondering if you could maybe call around and see if you could rent one of those big tents? Because I suggested we just have the wedding in the house if it rains, but Kayla said that wouldn’t work.”

“Yeah, 150 people won’t fit into the living room, unfortunately.”

“Yeah,” Finn replied, “I guess not.”

“This is really short notice, Finn,” Kurt said. “I can try, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up. What’s your tent budget?”

“Uh… maybe fifty bucks? I mean, we don’t actually _have_ a tent budget, since we weren’t planning on having a tent at all.”

Kurt closed his eyes and reminded himself that lecturing Finn for not thinking of the weather or having any money left to spare would be pointless. “I’ll check, OK? But with $50 and 48 hours of notice, I really don’t know what I can do.”

“Oh, you can make it work,” Finn said, sounding confident. “You always do.”

“Right,” Kurt replied, rolling his eyes. “I’ll call you later.”

“OK. Thanks, Kurt!”

Kurt ended the call and heaved a deep sigh.

“They want you to rent an event tent with two days’ notice and fifty bucks?” Sebastian asked him, grinning. “Good luck with that.”

“Yeah,” Kurt said. “Ugh, they should have just let me plan this wedding from the beginning. It’s going to be a mess. I’m going to be right back, OK? I’m just going to tell my dad we’re leaving.”

When Kurt returned, he found Sebastian out in the shop’s parking lot, talking on his phone. 

“Does that include set-up?” he was asking. “OK, great.” He noticed Kurt exiting the shop, and waved him over. “Hold on one second,” he said to the person on the phone, then covered the phone with his hand. “When does the wedding start on Saturday?”

“Four,” Kurt replied. “Who are you talking to?”

Sebastian ignored him and went back to his phone call. “Yeah, it’s at four p.m.” He listened for a minute. “Um, let me check.” He covered the phone again and looked at Kurt. “Does your brother have chairs and tables, or do they need those, too?”

“I… don’t know,” Kurt said. “Are you trying to rent a tent? You don’t have to do that, I was just going to call around and see wha-”

“Can you call him and find out?” Sebastian asked.

“Is this place cheap? Because they really don’t have the money to-”

Sebastian let out a frustrated sigh. “Are you going to call him or not? This place has a package that includes tables and chairs, but I need to know now.”

“Fine,” Kurt grumbled, taking out his phone and choosing Finn from his contacts list.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Finn. Do you guys have tables and chairs? Because the tent place we’re talking to rents those out, too.”

“Oh, yeah,” Finn said, “we told everyone to bring any extra lawn chairs or beach chairs they have, and we can bring out the chairs from the dining room and stuff, too, so there should be enough room for everybody. We have folding tables for the food, too.”

Kurt sighed. Sebastian was looking at him expectantly. “Get the tables and chairs,” he said. Sebastian nodded and went back to his phone call, walking away from Kurt as he talked. “You can tell everyone they don’t need to bring their lawn chairs,” he told Finn. “We’re going to rent them with the tent.”

“Oh, cool,” Finn replied. “So they’ll all match and everything?”

“Yeah,” Kurt said. He looked up and saw Sebastian waving him over. “Hey, I have to go,” he told Finn. “I’ll talk to you later, OK?”

“OK. Thanks a lot, Kurt!”

Kurt ended the call and put his phone into his pocket as he approached Sebastian. “What’s up?”

“I need you to talk to this guy,” Sebastian said, handing over his phone. “He needs details about the wedding, and the address of the house and stuff.”

“OK,” Kurt said. He talked to the tent rental guy for a few minutes, giving him the number of guests and Kayla’s parents’ address, and confirming that there would be room for the tent. 

“OK,” said the tent guy, “so you want the 40’ by 100’ tent, with the optional window sides and globe lighting, 175 padded white chairs, 23 round tables, four banquet tables, and white table linens for everything, right?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess so,” Kurt said, feeling a bit dazed. 

“OK, with the delivery and set-up fees, plus the late booking fee I talked about with the other guy, that comes out to $6,450.”

“Six thousand dollars?” Kurt cried. “No, oh god, no, that is way out of our price range, I’m sor-” Sebastian grabbed the phone out of his hand before he could finish.

“Larry?” Sebastian said. “Hi, sorry, me again. The price is fine, sorry about my friend,” he said, glaring at Kurt. “Is a credit card OK, or do you need me to come by and make the deposit in person? OK, great.” He reached into his wallet and pulled out a credit card, then recited his name, the credit card number, expiration date, and security code. “So we’ll see you Saturday morning, then?” He smiled. “Excellent. Thanks so much, man.”

As soon as Sebastian had ended the call, Kurt started in on him. “Are you crazy? Sixty-five hundred dollars? They have no money!”

“Which is why I put it on my credit card,” Sebastian replied, looking confused. “What’s the big deal?”

“You can’t pay for this!” Kurt cried. 

Sebastian just shrugged. “It’ll be my wedding gift.”

“Call back and cancel, Sebastian. That’s way too much money.”

“So tell your brother it was in his $50 price range. No offense, but he doesn’t seem like the smartest person in the world.”

Kurt thought that there was a chance Finn might actually believe that they got all of this for $50, but that wasn’t the point. “Are you trying to impress my family? Because this is not the way to do it.”

Sebastian let out a frustrated sigh. “Yes, it has been made incredibly clear to me that your family doesn’t like rich people. I’m not trying to impress anybody, OK? We’re going to be at this wedding too, though, and I highly doubt you want to spend five hours in the rain because your brother and his fiancée somehow did not consider the possibility of rain affecting their outdoor wedding. We’re lucky I even found someone willing to rent to me on such short notice.”

Kurt tried to picture all of Finn and Kayla’s guests dripping wet, holding paper plates full of food as they sat in old lawn chairs. “Fine,” he relented. “If it’s a wedding present, then I suppose it’s OK.” 

“It’s really not a big deal,” Sebastian insisted. “Not to sound like an asshole, but that’s pretty much pocket change to me.”

“Yeah, that _does_ make you sound like an asshole,” Kurt said, smiling. “We’ll head over to the house so I can talk to both of them about it. I want to make sure Kayla’s fine with having a tent and all those chairs and tables delivered. If it’s not how she pictured her wedding, I don’t want to ruin it.”

Sebastian snorted. “You think her dream wedding involved being rained on outside with no tables and chairs?”

“They were going to have people bring lawn chairs,” Kurt said. “Who knows? Maybe she really likes the idea of lawn chairs.”

“I’m sure it was just a money thing, Kurt,” Sebastian said. “ _No one_ chooses lawn chairs for their comfort or aesthetic value.”

“That’s the frustrating thing,” Kurt groaned. “They _had_ money. Neither of them are broke, and my parents and Kayla’s parents gave them money to help out.”

Sebastian frowned. “So what happened?”

“They decided to have a cheap wedding and use most of their money for a honeymoon. Except they went a little overboard with the cheap thing, I guess.”

“Where are they going on their honeymoon?”

Kurt bit his lip. “Um, Disney World? They’re going for two weeks. Neither of them have been before, and they both really wanted to go, and that many nights of hotel and theme park passes really adds up, apparently.”

Sebastian shook his head. “Disney World,” he said in disbelief.

“It’s their choice,” Kurt said, shrugging. “They just didn’t consider all of the costs associated with having such a big wedding.”

“Well, whatever,” Sebastian replied. “The honeymoon is always a lot more fun than the wedding, anyway.”

“I guess. Hey, maybe we should go on a honeymoon,” joked Kurt. 

Sebastian laughed. “You don’t want me spending money on your family, but you want me to take you on a honeymoon?”

“Hey,” Kurt said, lifting up his hands, “I’m just trying to make it look real for _you_ , buddy.”

“OK,” Sebastian agreed. “Let’s go on a honeymoon. Do you want to go to Disney World, too?” he asked, like Kurt was a small child. 

Kurt ignored Sebastian’s tone. “Are you kidding? Look at my skin, do you think I can handle Florida?”

Sebastian was still laughing when Kurt’s phone rang. 

“It’s one of the groomsmen,” Kurt told him, seeing Puck’s name on the display. “Hello, Puck.”

“Hey, Kurt, you’re in town, right?”

“Yeah,” Kurt said. “I got in yesterday.”

“Cool,” replied Puck. “Do you want to come out and grab some supplies with me?”

“By supplies, I’m assuming you mean liquor?”

“Well, yeah,” Puck said. “Sam’s not getting in until tomorrow, and Blaine’s being weird, so I thought I’d call you.”

Kurt considered asking for some more information about Blaine ‘being weird.’ Kurt still had received no response to his email, and even though the email hadn’t technically asked any questions, Kurt was still concerned that Blaine might have been upset by it, and that’s why he wasn’t replying. Instead of putting Puck in the middle of it, though, Kurt decided to ignore the comment. “How nice to hear that I’m your last choice,” he joked. 

“Not my _last_ choice,” Puck corrected him. “Finn’s tire shop friend was my last choice.”

“Bryan,” Kurt said. “His name is Bryan.”

“Whatever. He’s weird. Come on, man, let’s go buy liquor!”

Kurt laughed. “It’s not really a two person job, Puckerman.”

“It is when it’s for a bachelor party.”

“Finn doesn’t even drink,” Kurt replied. “And there really won’t be that many people there, so we don’t need that much alcohol. We do all need to be coherent enough to be part of a wedding the next day, you know.”

“This is exactly why you were my last choice,” Puck groaned. “Don’t be a buzzkill, Hummel. Meet me at the shopping plaza by Burger King at two, OK?”

Kurt checked his watch. It was only 11, so that should give him plenty of time to talk to Kayla and Finn. “That’s fine. I’m bringing my date with me, though.” 

“Oh yeah, Finn told me you were bringing someone. I can’t wait to meet the new Blaine.”

“Don’t get too excited,” Kurt said, glancing at Sebastian. He was messing around with his phone, pretending not to pay attention to Kurt’s conversation. “He’s nothing like Blaine.”


	9. Chapter 9

When Kurt brought Sebastian over to Kayla’s parents’ house, he had no idea that they would be seeing her entire family there. It was a little overwhelming. He didn’t know Kayla’s family all that well yet, and he hadn’t seen any of them since Finn’s engagement party the summer before. 

“Every single person in this house has blond hair,” Sebastian whispered to Kurt, peeking into the kitchen as they were ushered into the crowded house by Kayla’s mother, Marie. “It’s creepy.”

“Finn doesn’t,” Kurt whispered back. “And he’s in there somewhere.” He searched the mass of blond people in the kitchen, seeing three of Kayla’s sisters, Jackie, Sarah, and Mel, Jackie’s husband Neil, and Kayla’s best friend Adrienne, who was the maid of honor.

“Finn! Kayla!” Marie called. “Kurt’s here to see you!” She turned to Sebastian. “And who are you?”

“This is Sebastian,” Kurt explained. “He’s, uh… he’s my fiancé.” There was no reason to try and hide it, since there was a chance Finn would tell them at some point, anyway. 

“Oh,” Marie said, surprised.

Gabby, Kayla’s youngest sister, looked up from the television show she’d been watching with Jackie’s two young children. “What happened to Blaine?” 

“We broke up,” Kurt said, hoping Gabby wouldn’t ask for more details. She was 14, though, and he doubted he would be so lucky.

“Why?” she asked.

“Because I’m better looking,” Sebastian said, shooting Gabby a charming grin.

She considered this. “You are,” she decided. “Is Blaine still going to be in the wedding? He’s supposed to be the person I walk down the aisle with and then dance with.” 

“He’s still in the wedding,” Kurt assured her as Finn and Kayla entered the room.

“Yeah, don’t worry about that,” Finn said. He turned to Kurt. “I paired Blaine up with Gabby since, uh, he’s closest to her size.” 

Kurt couldn’t help but laugh. “Makes sense.” 

Sebastian looked amused. “Your ex has a bit of a size problem, then? Interesting.” 

“Shut up,” Kurt hissed, elbowing him. “There are kids here.” 

“You know,” Gabby said from the couch, “I wouldn’t mind dancing with Sebastian instead.” 

“Well, Sebastian’s not in the wedding,” Kurt said, shrugging. “Sorry.” 

“I’ll save a dance for you at the reception, sweetheart,” Sebastian said, giving Gabby a wink. “You only have to dance with with the midget once.” 

“Sebastian,” Kurt warned, but everyone seemed amused rather than horrified by his fiancé hitting on a 14-year-old girl.

“I’m sorry you’re not in the wedding, dude,” Finn said to Sebastian. “I would have put you in, if there was space. And if, uh, I had known who you were when we picked the wedding party.” 

“I understand,” Sebastian replied. “No hard feelings.” 

“Cool. So what are you guys doing here? Did you come to help with the food?” Finn asked, sounding hopeful. 

“Uh, no,” answered Kurt. “We just wanted to stop by and talk to you guys about the tent we rented.” 

“You actually found a place that would rent one on such short notice?” Kayla asked, shocked. 

Sebastian grinned. “We did.” 

“I can’t believe it,” she said. “I thought we were doomed.” 

“That’s great news,” agreed Kayla’s mother. “How much was it?” 

“Yeah, did it fit in our budget?” Finn asked. 

Kurt frowned. “Your budget was $50, Finn, and we got a tent, tables, and chairs for almost 200 people.” 

Finn’s face paled. “How much was it?”

“It wasn’t that expensive,” Sebastian said. “We got a deal.” 

“But we don’t have much-”

“Don’t worry about it, man, it’s a wedding present,” Sebastian said. 

“You got chairs and tables, too?” asked Kayla. 

“Yeah, that’s what we wanted to ask about,” Kurt explained. “I wanted to make sure it was OK with you, to have the whole thing set up by the tent rental place. I know your plan was to use other tables and chairs…” 

“Only because we wanted to do it as cheaply as possible,” Kayla said, laughing. “Having chairs and protection from the rain is totally fine, honestly. How much of a deal did you guys get, though? Because I did a little research on renting that stuff in the beginning, and it seemed like it could get really expensive.” 

“Well, they had some extra stuff that wasn’t getting rented out this weekend,” Sebastian lied. “They _want_ to get rid of that stuff, make any profit they can.” 

Kayla exhaled. “The wedding isn’t going to be a nightmare,” she said, closing her eyes. “I’ve spent the past few hours freaking out, you have no idea. Kurt, you are officially my hero.” 

“It wasn’t me,” Kurt said. “Sebastian booked the whole thing.” 

Kayla looked at Sebastian, surprised. “Oh god, you’re like Prince Charming, aren’t you?”

Sebastian gave her a bashful smile. “It was the least I could do,” he said. “You’ve all been so nice to me, and we’re going to be family soon.” Kurt had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at Sebastian’s overacting.

“I like this boy,” Marie said, patting Sebastian on the back. “I can see why you got engaged to him so quickly.”

“Yeah,” Kurt said, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. “He’s a real charmer.”

-

Though Kurt had only planned on making a quick stop at the house, they were still there an hour later. Jackie had managed to convince Kurt that they needed his help working in the kitchen. Sebastian had claimed cooking ignorance and stayed in the living room, watching TV with Gabby and Jackie’s two kids. Kurt was a little nervous about leaving a six-year-old and a two-year-old with Sebastian and Gabby as their only guardians, but no one else seemed concerned. 

The kitchen was a nightmare, with pots, pans, and ingredients covering every available surface. Kurt did enjoy cooking, but he was happy to escape the chaos going on in the kitchen. It made him panic just looking at it, because he couldn’t figure out how they could possibly be prepared to feed so many people by Saturday. He told everyone he had to get going, and said his goodbyes before heading back out into the living room to collect Sebastian. To his surprise, Kurt found Gabby alone on the couch. 

“Where did Sebastian go?” he asked her.

“He’s in the front yard with Luke and Emma,” Gabby said.

Kurt hurried out the door, a little afraid of what he’d find, but his worry turned out to be unnecessary. Sebastian was engaged in what seemed to be a three person baseball game with the kids. Kurt watched him hunch over, toss a wiffle ball at Emma, who was holding a bat, and then purposely let it roll by him after she hit it. Luke, who was standing behind Sebastian, squealed and chased after the ball as Emma ran around in a big circle, and then returned to where she had started. Kurt would be lying if he said it didn’t make his stomach twist pleasantly. Guys who were good with kids had become increasingly attractive to him in the past few years. He wasn’t even 100% sure if kids were something he wanted for in his future yet, but it was definitely a trait he valued in potential mates.

“Another home run!” Emma crowed, retrieving the bat. “Now the score is 75-0!”

“She’s destroying us, dude,” Sebastian said as Luke handed him the ball. “We _have_ to get her out this time!”

Luke just giggled and ran back to what Kurt assumed was meant to be second base. 

“If you’ve given up 75 runs, it might be time for a new pitcher,” Kurt said as he approached them. 

Sebastian looked up, startled, but he grinned when he saw Kurt. “I’m not a bad pitcher,” he said. “Emma’s just really good at hitting.”

“She must be good at pitching, too, if you haven’t scored any runs,” Kurt replied.

“They don’t get to bat,” Emma told him. “Only I do.”

“Well, that doesn’t seem fair.”

“It’s fair,” Emma insisted. “Because they have two people on their team and I only have me. It’s fair, right?” she asked, biting her lip and looking at Sebastian.

He nodded. “It’s fair,” he assured her. “Kurt just doesn’t understand baseball very well.”

Kurt rolled his eyes, but played along. “It’s true. I’m sorry.”

“That’s OK,” Emma said. “Do you want to play anyway? You can be on the boys’ team if you want.” 

Kurt could tell she was trying to be charitable. “I can’t, unfortunately,” he told her. “And you guys will have to end your game, too. I have to steal Sebastian away. We’re leaving.”

“Aww!” Emma whined. “That’s not fair!” Luke looked like he was about to cry.

“Maybe we can continue our game on Saturday,” Sebastian suggested. 

That lifted Emma’s spirits. “OK! Remember the score!”

Sebastian laughed. “I will. Come on,” he said, scooping up Luke. “If we’re leaving, you guys need to go back inside.”

-

After they deposited the children back into Gabby’s care and said goodbye to Kayla’s family, Kurt and Sebastian returned to their rental car to head into town and meet up with Puck. 

“You were really good with the kids,” Kurt mentioned as he pulled out of the driveway, trying to sound casual. 

Sebastian shrugged. “I guess.”

“Do you like kids?”

“Generally. Why?”

“I was just wondering if you had thought about having kids in the future,” Kurt explained. Then, realizing that sounded like an odd question, he quickly clarified. “Only because someone might ask us how we feel about it, you know? Since we’re getting married, and people will assume that it’s something we’ve discussed.”

“Well, in that case, it doesn’t actually matter if I want to have kids or not, does it?” Sebastian asked, sounding uncomfortable. “We can just make something up. We should say we want kids. People eat that shit up.”

“Right,” Kurt agreed. “That works.” Kurt was a little disappointed about not getting a real answer out of Sebastian, and embarrassed about having brought it up in the first place, but Sebastian spoke again after a minute.

“I do want kids, I think,” he said. “Not until I’m a bit older, but… I think it would be nice.”

“Me, too,” Kurt agreed. “I mean, I think it would be nice. I haven’t really decided yet. It depends on who I end up with, I guess.”

“Yeah.” There was a minute of uncomfortable silence before Sebastian changed the subject. “So, tell me about this friend we’re going to meet.”

-

Though Kurt could tell that Sebastian had been uncomfortable during their brief rendezvous with Puck at the liquor store, he had no idea how much the meeting had scarred Sebastian until they were alone again at the grocery store in the same shopping plaza, picking up snacks for the party.

“You have really weird friends,” Sebastian said as they browsed the potato chip section.. “ _Really_ weird.”

“Puck’s… unique,” Kurt agreed. “Which part exactly bothered you? All of the invasive questions about our sex life?”

“That was disturbing, yeah,” Sebastian replied.

“I guess those fraud interview questions about our favorite sexual positions would have been helpful to discuss, huh?” joked Kurt, trying to get a smile out of Sebastian. It didn’t work.

“What was even _more_ disturbing,” Sebastian continued, “was that he knew so much about your past sex life.”

Kurt pulled his attention from the chips to look at Sebastian. He was a little confused. Sebastian was one of the more inappropriate people he’d met in his life, always full of innuendo and crass jokes. “Why does this bother you so much? You’re kind of a pervert yourself, you know.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Oh please, I am not. I can be inappropriate with you, because…” he trailed off, then thought for a moment. “Because we know each other. I’m not like that with strangers. Especially strangers I’m trying to impress.”

“I don’t think Puck cares if he impresses you, to be honest.”

“Well, obviously,” replied Sebastian. “But I’m trying to make a good impression on everybody, and it’s a little difficult when someone keeps asking me if you’re still into…” He stopped talking when he noticed a woman with two small children just a few feet away. “Well. You know.”

Kurt couldn’t help but smile. This trip had been full of uncomfortable moments for Sebastian, and though Kurt sympathized, he was also really enjoying seeing his boss so out of his element. “Sorry,” he said. “I had no idea it would traumatize you so much.”

“How does he even _know_ all that stuff? You don’t seem terribly… open about that sort of thing.”

Kurt shrugged. “He’s friends with Blaine, and Blaine’s a chatty drunk.”

“Blaine, again,” scoffed Sebastian. “Of course.”

“Hey, you asked,” Kurt reminded him. “Do you think I enjoy talking about my ex? I’ve been avoiding the subject as much as possible.”

“Yeah, well, your family and friends certainly haven’t been.”

“Most people I know aren’t incredibly tactful,” Kurt said. “Anyway, what did you expect when you chose to get engaged to someone who’s only been out of a long-term relationship for two and a half months?” Kurt was a little confused by Sebastian’s animosity toward his ex. They had never even met, and Kurt didn’t remember sharing any particularly damning anecdotes about Blaine. 

“I didn’t _choose_ you, OK?” Sebastian asked. “ I’m stuck with you.”

Kurt narrowed his eyes. “Well, I didn’t choose you, either.”

“Yeah, that’s pretty clear,” Sebastian snapped. “Maybe you should just call Blaine and ask him to go to the wedding with you, instead.”

“I’d love to,” Kurt shot back, even though it wasn’t true. The idea of attending Finn’s wedding with Blaine made his stomach turn. He couldn’t even imagine how uncomfortable it would get. “If I didn’t think he already had another date, I’d pick him over you in a second.”

Sebastian frowned. “He has another date?” he asked, sounding more confused than angry now. “That was quick.”

“We’re not really allowed to think that’s quick,” Kurt pointed out, though he was secretly overjoyed to have someone agree with him about Blaine’s new relationship. “Seeing as we’re engaged already.”

“Fake engaged,” Sebastian said. 

“Real engaged,” Kurt corrected him. “Just fake in love.” He sighed. “Do you think this is enough?” he asked, indicating the shopping basket he was holding full of chips, dip, and salsa. “It’s probably only going to be, like, eight guys, and we’re having pizza right before, too.”

“I’m sure that’s fine,” Sebastian said.

“OK. I think I’m going to pick up some stuff to make dinner for my parents while we’re here.”

Sebastian looked panicked. “We’re having dinner with them _again_?”

“Well, we are staying with them,” Kurt pointed out.

“I know,” Sebastian said. “I just thought maybe we could go out or something.”

“Oh, yeah?” Kurt asked, laughing. “Like on a date?”

“Whatever you want to call it, darling,” Sebastian said. “As long as it gets me away from your dad.”

Kurt frowned. He had done his best to make sure Sebastian and his dad wouldn’t be stuck together all day, but they’d have to spend _some_ time together. “He wasn’t that bad this morning,” Kurt pointed out.

“No,” Sebastian agreed. “But I don’t want to give him any more chances to hate me.”

“He doesn’t hate you,” was Kurt’s automatic reply, but then he imagined all of them sitting around the dining room table that night, playing a board game and making small talk, like they used to do when Kurt brought Blaine home with him, and he couldn’t help but cringe. “We have to eat with them, at least. My dad will be pissed if we don’t. We can probably get out of there after that, though,” Kurt offered. “Maybe see a movie or something?”

“Wow,” Sebastian said. “You _are_ a benevolent dictator.” His tone was playful, despite the sarcasm, and for the first time since the whole independent designer feature drama had occurred, Kurt felt like the tentative friendship they had been cultivating might actually be salvageable. He hadn’t wanted to admit to himself how lonely his life had gotten in the past few weeks that they hadn’t been speaking, but since the break-up with Blaine and Rachel’s plans to move out, Sebastian had somehow become the person he talked to the most. Kurt wanted to repair the damage they’d done, even in spite of the marriage fraud and bribery. If nothing else, it would make the next two years much more tolerable.

“I guess I better head over the liquor store, then,” Sebastian continued.

“For what?” Kurt asked, trying to get out of his own head and back into the conversation. “We were just there.”

“Yeah,” Sebastian replied, “but we only bought stuff for the bachelor party. I need liquor for _me_ if we’re going to be dining with your dad tonight.”

-

The meal actually didn’t end up being too awful. Despite his earlier claims at Kayla’s parents’ house, Sebastian was pretty helpful in the kitchen, and Burt and Carole had been happy to come home to a homecooked meal. The conversation between the four of them was much less stilted and awkward than it had been before. At least, Kurt _thought_ it was, but he supposed there was a chance that the wine he shared with Sebastian was coloring his view of the situation. 

After dinner, Kurt insisted that his parents let he and Sebastian clear the table. As soon as they were alone in the kitchen, Sebastian spoke up.

“OK, we’re going out now, right?” he asked as they brought the dishes over to the sink. 

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” Kurt replied. He started rinsing the dishes and handing them to Sebastian to load the dishwasher. 

“But you said we could go out if we ate dinner with your parents,” whined Sebastian. 

“I did,” Kurt agreed, amused at the childish outburst. “That was before we drank a whole bottle of wine, though.”

Sebastian gave the empty wine bottle on the table a suspicious glance. “Your parents had some of that.”

Kurt shook his head. “Nope. Sadly, that was just us.”

Sebastian frowned, but before he could reply, Carole walked back into the kitchen.

“Are you sure you guys don’t want any help?” she asked.

“We’re fine, thanks,” replied Kurt. 

“Well, why don’t you guys finish loading the dishwasher and then we’ll play a game or something? It’s been a long time since we played Scrabble!”

Kurt remembered the terrifying image he’d conjured up earlier of them all playing a board game together. “Uh, actually,” he said, meeting Sebastian’s panicked gaze, “we were going to go out tonight.”

Carole eyed the wine bottle on the table. “Yeah?”

“Not driving anywhere,” he assured her, trying to come up with a plan. “Just… going for a walk.”

Sebastian shut the door of the dishwasher and grabbed Kurt’s arm. “A romantic walk,” he clarified. “To romantic places. Because we’re in love.”

“OK,” Carole replied, her eyes glittering with amusement. “Try not to get lost, boys.”

They said their goodbyes to Carole and Sebastian pulled him through the living room and out the front door.

“Smooth,” Kurt said with a laugh once they were on the porch.

Sebastian gave him a lopsided grin. “I always am.” 

They were halfway down the driveway before Sebastian realized he was still holding on to Kurt’s arm. After letting go, he shoved his hands into his pants pockets. “So where are we going?”

Kurt shrugged. “There’s really nowhere too exciting to go on foot,” he said. “I just figured you’d want to get out of the house for a little while.”

They walked down Kurt’s street for a few minutes, sharing a comfortable silence. When they came across the local elementary school, Kurt led Sebastian up the path toward the playground.

“Is this where you went to school?” Sebastian asked as they approached the swingset.

“Actually, no,” Kurt replied, sitting on the outermost swing. Sebastian took the swing directly next to him. “I didn’t move to this neighborhood until I was in high school,” he explained. “I used to wish I went here, though. This playground is so much better than mine was.” Kurt didn’t mention that he had also wanted to transfer because he used to think that the kids at this school might have been nicer to him than his own classmates. 

Sebastian gave the playground an appraising look. “ _This_ was the better playground?” he asked. “God, I pity the public school children of America.”

“What would you know about playgrounds?” Kurt scoffed. “Did those snooty private schools you attended even have them? Because they always seemed more like prisons to me.”

“Oh, we had playgrounds,” Sebastian said. Then, with a wistful sigh, he added, “They were awesome.”

They swung quietly for a few minutes, staying low to the ground. Eventually, Sebastian spoke again.

“Do you think your dad’s in bed yet?”

Kurt laughed. “Uh, no,” he said. “It’s not even dark out yet.”

Sebastian glanced up at the sky. “Well, it’s getting there.” 

“It’s cute how afraid you are of my dad,” Kurt said. It came out more fond than condescending, which was probably the wine’s fault. He expected Sebastian to mock him.

“It’s a healthy kind of fear,” Sebastian said instead, spinning around a few times so the chains holding his swing started twisting around each other. “It’s smart to fear the things that can destroy you,” he added solemnly.

Kurt laughed again. Sebastian wasn’t looking at him, and instead had all of his attention focused on the twisted up chain above his head. “How are you so much drunker than I am?” he asked. “I thought we split that bottle about evenly.”

Sebastian turned his attention back to Kurt. “You’ve caught me,” he said with a grin, clutching the chains tightly in his fists and leaning toward Kurt. “You’ve figured out my one flaw.”

“What’s that?”

“I can’t hold my liquor,” Sebastian replied. “I’m a lightweight. It’s awful, I know.”

“That’s your one flaw, huh?” Kurt asked, amused. Though he had a list of Sebastian’s other flaws waiting on the tip of his tongue, he decided not to voice them. They were having fun, after all, and there was no reason to go down that path, even if they started out just teasing. 

“It is,” Sebastian joked. “Do you think our marriage can survive this?”

“I can handle it,” Kurt assured him. “Trust me, I have a lot of experience in that area. Bl-” He cut himself off, remembering Sebastian’s negative reaction to hearing about Blaine earlier in the day. Kurt spent a few seconds desperately trying to come up with another name that started with ‘Bl,’ but he couldn’t think of anything. He blamed this on the wine, too.

“Blaine?” Sebastian supplied.

“Yeah,” Kurt said. “He, uh, can’t really hold his liquor, either.” There was an awkward silence after that, with the only noise coming from the chains of Sebastian’s swing as he wound them up even tighter. Kurt felt pretty terrible for ruining their good time, though he still wasn’t sure why any mention of Blaine was so troublesome. It wasn’t as if Blaine presented any real obstacle to their fraudulent marriage.

“He’s sort of like Owen Wilson,” Sebastian said after a few minutes.

“Who is?” Kurt asked, confused. 

“Blaine,” Sebastian replied. 

Kurt scrunched up his face as he pictured Owen Wilson. “Uh, no. He’s really not.”

“He is,” Sebastian insisted. “Everyone you know loves him and doesn’t understand why you broke up, because he’s great, and he’s been around _forever_ , and I’m just like… Ben Stiller.”

Realization dawned on Kurt. “Are you seriously using _Meet the Parents_ to illustrate your point?” he asked. He couldn’t believe that _that_ was the movie Sebastian felt applied to their situation the most. 

“It makes sense,” Sebastian said. 

“I think you’re having delusions of persecution,” Kurt told him. “Though my dad _would_ be flattered to know you think of him as Robert DeNiro.”

“He’s scarier than Robert DeNiro,” Sebastian replied. “And I’m not having delusions. I’m totally Ben Stiller.”

“Well, isn’t that a good thing?” Kurt asked, hoping he remembered the movie’s ending correctly. “Owen Wilson was great and everyone loved him, but she didn’t end up with him, because _she_ loved Ben Stiller.” He paused after that, considering the implications of what he’d just said. “Not that… I mean, that doesn’t really apply to us at all, but…” he trailed off.

“Yeah.” Sebastian said, glancing back up at his twisted swing chains. “I guess not.” He lifted his feet off of the ground and let go, finally releasing the chains’ tension as he spun rapidly around. 

-

The next few minutes were a bit awkward, but by the time Kurt had convinced Sebastian that they had to head back to the house because he had to pee, the mood had lightened again. Kurt still noticed Sebastian bracing himself before they walked through the front door, though.

“Hey, guys,” Burt said, turning his head in their direction from his spot on the couch. “Good time?”

“Yeah, it was fun,” Kurt replied. “I think we’re going to head upstairs and watch a movie.”

“OK,” Burt said. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow, then?”

“Yes, sir!” Sebastian replied, bringing his hand up to his forehead and saluting Burt before heading to the stairwell. 

Burt raised an amused eyebrow at Kurt, who laughed. “Good night, Dad.”

“Good night.”

When Kurt caught up to Sebastian, he was still climbing the stairs. “Do you realize,” Kurt began, trying to hold in his laughter, “that you just saluted my father?”

Sebastian stopped and turned to face him. “He works for the _government_ , Kurt,” he said, as if that explained everything. Kurt burst out laughing, and Sebastian joined him a few seconds later. They managed to make it the rest of the way to Kurt’s room, and Kurt headed straight to his suitcase to grab his pajamas. 

“Is it OK if I take the bathroom first tonight?” he asked.

“Go ahead,” said Sebastian, walking over to his own suitcase. “I know you have to pee, anyway. I can wait.”

“Thanks,” Kurt replied. “You better not walk in on me while I’m changing this time.”

Sebastian snorted. “You liked it.”

“ _You_ liked it,” Kurt retorted, cringing at the subpar comeback. His intoxicated brain was really failing him tonight.

“I did like it,” Sebastian said, and Kurt’s breath caught in his throat. “It was nice to see you _are_ actually a guy. I was sort of afraid you were hiding breasts under there, honestly.”

Kurt exhaled, feeling mostly relieved. They were back in familiar territory now, which was probably for the best.

-

They didn’t end up turning out the lights until a few hours later. Instead of watching a movie, they had turned on some sitcom reruns and sat in bed with their laptops. Kurt spent some time going through job listings while texting back and forth with Rachel, who wanted to know how the fake fiancé thing was going. By the time Kurt shut his laptop and placed it on the nightstand next to him, the television channel they had been watching _The Big Bang Theory_ on was showing the local 10 o’clock news.

“Is it OK if I turn this off?” Kurt asked Sebastian, who didn’t appear to be watching. “I think I’m going to try and sleep.” It wasn’t late, but the wine had made him sleepy, and he had a feeling he would need to be well-rested for whatever drama the rehearsal dinner and bachelor party might hold.

“Yeah, go ahead,” Sebastian replied. “You can turn off the light, too, if you want. I don’t need it.” Kurt got up to turn off the light and then pulled back the covers and climbed into bed. “Does the laptop light bother you?” Sebastian asked.

“No, it’s fine,” Kurt assured him.

“I’ll be done in a few minutes, anyway.”

“No rush.”

Sebastian was true to his word, though, and had put his own laptop away and gotten under the sheets next to Kurt within five minutes. Kurt was still awake, feeling far too much anxiety to turn off his brain and drift off to sleep. Tomorrow, he would have to see Blaine again and explain why he was engaged to his boss less than three months after they had broken up. Blaine, who already had another boyfriend, anyway, and didn’t care enough to respond to the email Kurt had sent him as a courtesy. The thought of Blaine and Sebastian being together at the rehearsal dinner with most of Kurt’s family and friends made him feel sick to his stomach. He wasn’t sure _how_ it was going to go wrong, but he knew that it was inevitable. No good could come of this situation at all. 

Kurt tried to force himself to stop thinking about tomorrow’s impending disaster and instead focus on something positive. He thought of the fun he’d had with Sebastian that evening, and the relief he’d felt upon realizing that there was a chance that they could fix their relationship. That, too, led to upsetting thoughts, though. Something Sebastian had said to him on the plane the day before had stuck with him. It had been troubling then, but was even more troubling today, in light of Kurt’s restored hope for their future friendship. 

He let himself dwell on it for a few minutes before deciding that if he ever wanted to talk to Sebastian about it, now was the time to do it. Sebastian had definitely sobered up since they had arrived home, but he still seemed more open and inviting toward Kurt than he had in weeks.

“Hey, Sebastian?” Kurt finally asked. He could tell from Sebastian’s breathing that he, too, was lying awake. 

“Mmm?” Sebastian murmured.

“Did you actually cheat on your boyfriend, or did you just say that to make me angry?”

Sebastian was quiet for a moment. Kurt could tell that wasn’t the question he had expected.

“That was the truth,” Sebastian finally replied. “Why?”

“I just… “ Kurt trailed off. He didn’t really know how to explain why he wanted to know, but the idea of cheating on someone you were in a long-term relationship with was baffling to him. Of all the less than savory facts Kurt had learned about Sebastian in the past seven months, this was by far the most upsetting. “Why did you do it?”

“I don’t know,” Sebastian replied. “Why does anybody?”

“I don’t know,” said Kurt. “I never cheated.” He knew a lot of people who had, though, and he hadn’t written any of them off as bad people, so he was perplexed by how much the idea of Sebastian cheating bothered him. “I can’t imagine hurting someone like that.”

Sebastian sighed and took a moment to think. “Our relationship was over,” he said eventually. “He was my first boyfriend, and I didn’t know how to end it. I just felt trapped.”

Kurt was shocked by how much he could relate to Sebastian’s explanation. It had been only a few months ago that he was in the same position, trapped in a failing relationship because he was a coward. 

When Kurt didn’t reply, Sebastian continued, sounding angrier. “I was 21 and I was stupid, OK? Are you looking for an apology or something?”

“No, of course not,” Kurt replied. “It didn’t have anything to do with me.” He sighed. “I shouldn’t have asked. It’s not my business. I was just… curious.”

Sebastian didn’t reply right away. “Did Blaine cheat on you?” he asked after a moment, his voice softer. “Is that why… ?”

“No,” Kurt replied. How close had they come, though? What would have happened if Blaine hadn’t finally had the guts to end it that night in March? Kurt would like to think that neither of them would have resorted to cheating, but he couldn’t say for certain. “One of us might have done it eventually, I guess.” He normally wouldn’t have shared this thought so freely, but there was something so intimate about talking quietly in the dark before bed. It was where he’d had most of his best conversations, not just with Blaine, but with most of his close friends.

“You wouldn’t have,” Sebastian asserted.

Kurt let out a quiet laugh. “What makes you so sure?”

“You’re way too loyal to do something like that.”

“It’s funny you would say that,” Kurt said, frowning, “because you seem so convinced that I was trying to screw you over by suggesting that independent designer feature.”

Sebastian sighed. “I… _might_ have overreacted to that, just a little.”

“A little?”

“A… medium amount,” Sebastian corrected. Kurt snorted. “I was an asshole, OK? I was panicking about keeping the job and I really hated the idea that you were only helping me so you could have your designs in the magazine.”

“Is this an apology?” Kurt teased.

“Sure,” replied Sebastian. “If you want it to be.”

“I do,” Kurt said. “I forgive you.” He paused for a minute before continuing. “I’m sorry, too. I did honestly think it would help you out, but I guess my behavior seemed sort of shady.”

“It did,” Sebastian agreed.

“I should have been upfront about everything,” Kurt continued. “We were in a good place, and we trusted each other, and I-”

“You’re sorry, I get it,” Sebastian interrupted, sounding amused. “You’re sorry, I’m sorry. We can move on now.”

“Good,” Kurt said. “I’m glad.” He doubted the words conveyed how relieved the clearing of the air had actually made him. The idea of entering into a fraudulent marriage to help a friend was much more palatable than entering into a fraudulent marriage because his boss had bribed him.. 

“You know,” Sebastian said after a minute, “I really hate working at that magazine, but it’s going to be strange not having a job.” 

“I wouldn’t worry,” Kurt said. “You showed real promise in the kitchen earlier. I think you’re going to make an excellent househusband.”

Sebastian laughed and gave Kurt’s shin a gentle kick underneath the sheets. They were quiet after that, and Sebastian soon drifted off to sleep. Kurt, too, felt lighter after their conversation, and managed to fall asleep before he had time to worry about the next day any more.


	10. Chapter 10

When Kurt awoke the next morning, he was embarrassed to find that he’d moved closer to Sebastian during the night and wrapped an arm around him again. This time, though, he didn’t wake up to Sebastian poking him, but to a consistent knocking on the bedroom door.

“Uh, Kurt?” Sebastian asked once he realized Kurt’s eyes were open. “Can you…”

“Sorry, sorry,” Kurt said, immediately pulling his arm off of Sebastian. 

“I was talking about answering the door,” Sebastian replied, rolling his eyes. “But thank you for releasing me from your death grip.”

“Oh,” Kurt said. “Right.” Assuming that it must be either his dad or Carole on the other side, he called, “Come in!”

“Well, _I_ could have done that,” Sebastian muttered, turning to bury his face into his pillow.

The door opened slowly, but the person peeking in wasn’t Burt or Carole. It was Adrienne, Kayla’s maid of honor, and she looked uncomfortable.

“Um… hi,” she said, not making any move to actually enter the room once she had the door open. “Your dad let me in.” 

“Of course he did,” mumbled Sebastian. Kurt elbowed him. 

“It’s fine,” Kurt told her. “We’re awake. What’s up?” He couldn’t imagine what could possibly make her show up here at eight o’clock in the morning. Kurt and Adrienne had barely even spoken before. 

“Well, um… I have some bad news,” she said, looking anywhere but at the bed. “Mrs. Leonard had a heart attack last night.” 

“Oh,” Kurt said. He had no idea who Mrs. Leonard was. “That’s… too bad.” 

Adrienne must have sensed his confusion. “She lives next door to Kayla’s parents,” she explained. “Kayla’s freaking out.”

“Oh, OK,” Kurt replied. “Were they close?” 

“No, not really,” Adrienne said. 

Kurt waited for her to explain further, but she didn’t say anything else. “Well… OK,” he said, trying to think of a tactful way to ask why the hell she was lurking outside of his bedroom at this hour of the morning.

“What he means by that,” Sebastian broke in, lifting his head, “is ‘what does this have to do with me, and why are you here?’” 

Kurt elbowed him again, though Sebastian had summed it up very nicely. Apparently, a friend of the bride’s didn’t count as someone Sebastian cared to impress. 

Adrienne looks flustered. “Sorry, it’s just, um… she was the one making the cake? So…” 

“So they don’t have a cake anymore?” Kurt guessed. 

“Basically,” Adrienne replied. “And I told her I’d take care of it, right? Because she’s _really_ panicking, and I just… don’t really know what to do. And I know that you guys helped them out with the tent thing, so I thought-” 

“We only could do that because Sebastian paid a tent rental company a _lot_ of money,” Kurt pointed out. “We’re not magical wedding fairies.” Sebastian snorted into his pillow, and Kurt tried to ignore him. 

“Oh,” Adrienne said, looking disappointed. “Well, I just thought you might be interested in helping, since I know you offered to plan the wedding and everything…” 

Kurt _had_ offered to plan the wedding, but that was almost a year ago, and he had been turned down. This wasn’t wedding planning, anyway. This was cleaning up the messes left by the mistakes of a bunch of inexperienced people, and he wasn’t particularly interested in doing it anymore. “It’s the day before the wedding,” he replied. “I don’t even think it’s possible to get a wedding cake with one day’s notice.” He was trying to keep his voice neutral, but he could tell from Adrienne’s face that he wasn’t succeeding. He took a deep breath and tried again. “We could try making it ourselves?” he suggested, trying to figure out the exact amount of baking time they would have before the rehearsal dinner tonight, and before the wedding tomorrow. “We could make a small cake, maybe, for them, and try to decorate it nicely enough, and then maybe make a whole lot of cupcakes to make sure everyone gets something. What are your plans for today?”

“We have some last minute dress alterations in a few hours,” she said.

“Dress alterations?” Kurt asked through gritted teeth. “The day before the wedding?”

Before Adrienne could respond, Sebastian sat up next to him. “Adrienne, can you give us a second?” he asked. “I’m sure Kurt’s dad would be happy to make you a cup of coffee. We’ll be downstairs in a minute.”

She looked a little unsure, but nodded. “OK,” she said, closing the door.

“What are you doing?” Kurt asked him.

“Sparing that poor girl your wrath,” Sebastian replied. “You were about to start screaming.”

“I was not,” Kurt insisted. “Though maybe I should have. You know, she was the main wedding planner, and-”

“Yes, this wedding was obviously planned very poorly,” Sebastian interrupted. “Look, I’ll take her out to talk to some bakeries, and-”

“No,” Kurt said. “Absolutely not.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Kurt, do you really want to be here baking all day?”

“No, but we don’t have much of a choice.”

“Adrienne and I will figure something out, OK? And you will stay here so you don’t give her a panic attack.”

“So, what is your plan?” Kurt asked. “To go to every bakery in the area and wave money at them until they agree to make a wedding cake in 24 hours?”

“Uh, basically?” Sebastian got out of bed and headed over to his suitcase. “It’s more effective than trying to bribe people over the phone,” he joked.

“You don’t have to do this,” Kurt told him. “It’s not your job to fix this. Just because you have the money to do it, that doesn’t mean you should.”

“It’s not really about the money,” Sebastian said. “I can help them out, so why wouldn’t I?”

“Sebastian, they entrusted their wedding cake to a weak-hearted elderly neighbor.”

Sebastian shrugged. “Even idiots shouldn’t have their wedding ruined because they suck at planning.”

Kurt let out a frustrated sigh. “You don’t even know them, and you’re putting more money into their wedding than they did. Don’t you see how ridiculous that is? We’re not even… it’s not even like you’re _actually_ going to be part of this family, anyway.”

“Well, that’s exactly it,” Sebastian snapped. “I’m lying to all of these people, tricking them into believing I’m someone that I’m not, and this is the least I can do. There’s no reason to force them to have a wedding they hate just because you’re still bitter that you didn’t get to plan it yourself. You’re being petty, Kurt.”

“I am not!” Kurt cried. Sebastian raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “OK,” Kurt relented. “I _am_ annoyed about it, but it’s not like I don’t want to help. I just don’t think bribery is the answer. Money can’t fix everything, you know.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “I know that. It can probably fix _this_ , though, so why don’t you just… relax? Spend some time with your dad. This hopefully won’t take that long.”

Though Kurt still wasn’t a fan of the idea, he relented. Sebastian threw on some clothes and headed out with Adrienne, and Kurt went to the garage with his dad. He could have gone with Carole over to Kayla’s parents’ house to work on the food, but that kitchen had been such a disaster the day before that Kurt knew it wouldn’t help his stress level. 

Being at the shop with his father was not terribly relaxing, either. They had fun and did a bit of joking around, but they mostly focused on the cars. Kurt could tell that Burt was struggling to avoid talking about the engagement. Kurt almost wanted to tell him the truth, because it was clear that his dad was very concerned. Telling him, though, might not ease Burt’s mind anyway. It would probably upset him even more to know that his son was marrying his boss to help advance his own career. Kurt wished he had someone else to talk to about this besides Rachel. She wasn’t even going to be in town until tomorrow. Blaine would know soon enough, too, but Kurt doubted that his ex would be interested in discussing his conflicting feelings about his impending green card marriage. Kurt was starting to doubt whether he wanted to explain the situation to Blaine at all anymore. The lack of response to Kurt’s email was pretty inconsiderate, and maybe Blaine deserved to see how it felt to see your ex with someone new so soon after the break-up. 

As soon as the thought passed through his brain, he heard Sebastian’s voice calling him petty. _I guess it must be true_ , Kurt thought as his stomach twisted unpleasantly. 

Around noon, Kurt decided to take a walk to a nearby deli to get some lunch for himself and his father. He ordered a sandwich for Sebastian as an afterthought. Before he left that morning, Sebastian had told Kurt that he would text him as soon as they were done. Kurt assumed that would be soon, and that Sebastian probably wouldn’t have eaten. 

When Kurt returned to the garage with the sandwiches, he was surprised to find Sebastian already there, standing in front of a car’s open hood with his father. Burt seemed to be explaining something, and Sebastian was nodding along in understanding. It was nice, seeing his dad and Sebastian together, and it helped to release the tension that had been building up inside of Kurt all morning.

“Hey,” Kurt called. Sebastian and Burt looked up from the car. “You’re back,” he said to Sebastian.

“Yeah,” Sebastian said, smiling at him. “I figured I might as well just come straight here.”

“I got you lunch.” Kurt held up the bag from the deli.

“Hey,” Burt grunted. “I thought you went out to get _me_ lunch.”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “I got you lunch, too.” He walked over to them and handed Burt his sub. “Is it OK if we go eat outside?”

“Yeah, go ahead,” Burt said. 

Kurt and Sebastian headed outside and sat on a bench outside of the tire shop. “I figured you’d be done soon,” Kurt said, handing Sebastian his sandwich. “And luckily, after seven months of fetching your lunch, I know what you like to eat.”

“Thanks,” Sebastian said. “It will be nice to eat something that’s not 100% sugar.”

Kurt laughed. “Sampled some of the stuff at the bakeries, huh?”

“I did,” Sebastian admitted. 

“But you worked something out?”

“Yeah. It’s probably not exactly what they wanted, but they’re going to have a really fancy wedding-type cake just for them, and then cupcakes. I talked to them, they’re OK with it.”

“So… exactly what I planned then?”

“Yes,” Sebastian said. “But you don’t have to personally bake or decorate anything, and it’s being done by professionals, so it’s much better.”

“I’ll have you know I’m a very talented baker,” Kurt huffed.

Sebastian laughed. “I’m sure you are,’ he said, “but now you don’t have to worry about it.”

“That is a plus,” said Kurt. “Do I even want to know what you had to do to convince a bakery to do this on such short notice?”

“Probably not,” Sebastian replied. “Just take comfort in the fact that it’s taken care of.”

“I suppose I can do that,” Kurt said. Sebastian looked relieved. “So… what were you doing with my dad?”

“Umm… something with the engine, maybe?” Sebastian said. “I don’t know, I was barely listening. I was too busy trying not to panic.”

Kurt laughed. “He’s trying really hard, I think. I was expecting a lecture this morning, but it didn’t happen.”

“He was being nice to me, yeah,” Sebastian agreed as he unwrapped his sub. “Everyone’s been really nice to me.”

“That’s only because of me,” Kurt joked. “They know I’ll make their lives miserable if they’re not.”

Sebastian snorted. “And here I was, thinking they were being nice to me because I’m so wonderful and charming.”

“Nope,” Kurt said, grinning. “Not a chance.”

They ate quietly for a few minutes before Sebastian changed the subject. “Your dad, he uh… he was talking about the wedding.”

“Yeah?” “Kurt asked. “Well, it is tomorrow, so it’s on everyone’s mind, I guess.”

“Oh, not that wedding,” Sebastian said. “He was talking about our wedding.”

“Oh,” replied Kurt, surprised that his father would bring that up with Sebastian.”What did he say?”

Sebastian kept his eyes on the ground as he answered. “He was just… talking about how you used to plan fake weddings when you were a kid, and how excited you got when you thought about getting married. I think he’s really happy for you, you know? That you’re having a wedding.”

Kurt wasn’t sure how to respond. Though it relieved him to know that his dad was starting to come around to the idea, it hurt, too. There wouldn’t be a wedding, not one that Burt could attend, at least. Kurt was OK with it, because he knew it wasn’t going to be his real wedding, anyway, but he knew it was going to be tough for his family to understand without knowing the truth.

“I just… I think your family’s going to be really mad about the whole ‘courthouse wedding with no family’ thing,” Sebastian continued.

“They won’t be mad,” Kurt told him. “They’ll be confused, but-”

“I was thinking,” Sebastian interrupted, looking up at Kurt, “that maybe… OK, it would still have to be pretty soon, but my visa doesn’t expire until July 21st, so we have, like, over a month, which might be enough time to plan something that your family could come to, you know? Nothing elaborate, really, but at least they could be there. And, actually, we could probably wait until a little after the 21st, because it’s not like they’re going to have people knocking down my door right away, because we should have the visa approval by then, which means technically we have six months to get married.” Sebastian finally stopped to take a breath. 

It was a lot for Kurt to take in. Before he could stop himself, he was picturing an intimate city wedding, with his family and close friends. It’s what he’s wanted since the day he moved to New York, and that hadn’t changed even without Blaine in the picture. Substituting Sebastian into Blaine’s place wasn’t as hard as Kurt expected it to be, and for a moment, Kurt was tempted to discuss the idea further.

“I… that’s really… thank you for offering, seriously,” Kurt said. “It would be fun, but… we can’t have you getting deported just so I can have my family at our fake wedding. Anyway, I think it would probably just make it harder on them in the end, you know?” _And harder on me_ , he thought. “It’s just easier if they don’t get too attached.”

“Yeah,” Sebastian said, looking down again. “That makes sense. Whatever makes your dad want to kill me the least is the best plan.”

Kurt smiled. “Well, he’ll want to kill you either way,” he teased, “but we’ll be divorced, so he won’t really have any reason to see you anymore.”

“Good point,” said Sebastian. “I guess it would be weird for your family if we stay friends after we get divorced, huh?”

The idea made Kurt sad, which was ridiculous, considering it was still two years in the future. “Probably,” he replied. “But they live here, and we live in New York, so it’s not like they know who I’m hanging out with all the time.”

“True,” Sebastian said. 

They went quiet again and continued eating. When they were finished, Kurt crumpled up the paper that had held his sandwich and tossed it into the bag from the deli, then held the bag open so Sebastian could do the same. “Do you want to get out of here?” Kurt asked. “We can just go back home and get ready for the rehearsal dinner.”

“Yeah, that works for me,” Sebastian said, giving him a smile. “I know your dad’s being nice and everything but…”

“He still terrifies you,” Kurt finished with a teasing grin. “All right. We’ll just let him know what’s going on, and then we can go.”

-

When Kurt entered the living room of his parents’ house a few hours later, freshly showered and ready for the rehearsal dinner, he was searching for Sebastian. Instead, he found an excitable Mercedes pacing the room.

“You’re here!” he exclaimed, quickly closing the distance between them. He hadn’t been sure if he’d see her before the dinner that night. They’d only seen each other briefly at Christmas, and Kurt missed her. He opened his arms for a hug, but Mercedes didn’t do the same.

“Kurt Hummel!” she cried, holding up a finger to stop him. “When were you planning on telling me you got engaged?!”

“Oh,” he said, dumbfounded. He hadn’t even thought of informing the friends he hadn’t personally encountered yet. “I, um…”

“I had to hear about it from Puck,” she screeched. “You told _Puck_ before me!”

“I didn’t tell Puck,” Kurt insisted. “Finn must have, because when I saw Puck yesterday, he already knew.”

“So everyone knew before me?”

“No, no, of course not,” Kurt soothed, looking around the room for Sebastian, or Sam or… anyone who could help him. He felt awful, because under normal circumstances, Mercedes would have gotten a text immediately after the proposal. Though they hardly ever saw each other, and didn’t talk nearly as much as they used to, they always quickly fell into their old routine as soon as they reconnected, and he still considered Mercedes one of his very best friends. “I wanted to tell you in person,” he said. “No one was supposed to find out so soon, anyway. I wanted to wait until after Finn’s wedding to tell everyone.”

That seemed to calm her a bit, but before she could reply, Sam burst through the door holding a case of beer, with Puck and Sebastian trailing behind him with cases of their own.

“Kurt!” Sam cried, a gleeful grin lighting up his face. “Hey, man!” He placed the case of beer down on the floor and came over to give Kurt a hug while Sebastian and Puck took their cases into the kitchen.

“Hey, Sam,” Kurt said, hugging him back. “How nice to have someone greet me properly,” he continued, sending Mercedes a glare.

“Did she yell at you?” Sam asked, looking over his shoulder at her. “I knew she was going to do that. Congratulations, though,” he said, turning back to Kurt. 

“Thanks. I’m guessing you guys have met Sebastian?”

“Yeah,” Sam replied. “He let us in. We’re just bringing in the supplies for the party.” He picked up the case of beer and headed into the kitchen. 

Kurt turned to Mercedes. “Look, Mercedes, I-”

“He’s good to you?”

“Yeah, of course,” Kurt replied.

“OK,” she said, finally stepping forward and wrapping her arms around him. “God,” she continued as she stepped back. “I expected you to be a complete mess this weekend, still broken up over Blaine, and instead, you’re engaged to this brand new guy I’ve never even met.”

Kurt almost assured her that he wasn’t over Blaine yet, not by a long shot, but he remembered that it wouldn’t make a lot of sense, since he was apparently in love with someone else. “I know it’s quick,” Kurt said. “Blaine and I had sort of been ending for a long time, though, and we broke up amicably, so…”

“I can’t believe you guys aren’t together anymore!” Mercedes said. “I can’t even picture it. It’s so weird seeing you _anywhere_ without Blaine.”

“Well,” Kurt said, really wishing for a change of subject, “you’ll see him tonight, anyway.” The guys walked through the living room and straight out the front door again, presumably to grab more of the alcohol Puck had bought yesterday. 

“Yeah,” Mercedes said. “You guys are good, though? There won’t be any drama?”

Kurt scoffed. “Of course not. Like I said, it was amicable.” 

In truth, Kurt was pretty terrified. In about an hour, he’d be seeing Blaine for the first time since they broke up. Kurt had told himself earlier in the day that he would be honest and upfront with Blaine about the whole Sebastian situation as soon as he saw him at the rehearsal dinner, and he was dreading the explanation. He knew Blaine was going to be disappointed in him. 

“Good,” Mercedes said. “Now, let’s talk about more important things . I get to be in your wedding party, right? I mean, I know Finn is probably going to be the best man, and Rachel will obviously be there, but as long as there’s space for me…”

“Well,” Kurt said, bracing herself for a very negative reaction. The guys were walking back into the house, so he figured now was as safe a time as any to tell her the bad news. “We’re probably going to end up just doing a courthouse wedding.”

“WHAT?!” Mercedes shrieked. The guys stopped in their tracks and turn to look at them. Mercedes, a bit quieter, said, “Isn’t this guy, like, loaded? Puck said he’s super rich.” 

“He is,” Kurt said. “It’s not really about money, though.” He watched Sebastian, Sam, and Puck walk into the kitchen. “It’s just… how we’re thinking of doing it.” Kurt paused, thinking of Sebastian’s early offer to have have a real wedding for Kurt’s family and friends. “We have been talking about maybe having a small wedding with close relatives and friends, though,” he said, giving her a small smile. “So if we end up doing that, you _know_ you’ll be in the wedding party.”

Mercedes shook her head slowly. “Boy, we _need_ to make more time to hang out. I feel like I don’t even know you anymore.”

Kurt pouted and wrapped his arms around her. “I know,” he said. “I wish you were coming to the bachelor party tonight. I’m going to be stuck here with all these boys.”

Mercedes laughed. “Poor you.”

“Maybe you can come,” Kurt suggested. “I bet Finn wouldn’t mind. It’s not like there’s going to be strippers or anything. Just movies and video games and junk food and… a _lot_ of alcohol.”

“Nah, I’m gonna go see my family tonight after the rehearsal dinner,” she said. “But we’ll see each other tomorrow! And Sam and I aren’t flying back until Monday, so we can hang out Sunday, too.”

“Yeah, I’d like that,” Kurt said, smiling at her. 

“Well, that was everything,” Puck said, leading Sam and Sebastian back into the living room. “Are you ready to get going?” he asked Mercedes.

“Yeah,” she said. “Puck’s going to take Sam and I back to my parents’ house so we can shower and stuff before the dinner, but we’ll see you guys in a little while?”

“OK,” Kurt said. 

“It was nice meeting you guys,” Sebastian said, giving Sam and Mercedes a smile.

“You, too, man,” Sam said, clapping Sebastian on the shoulder. 

“Yeah,” added Mercedes, “I look forward to getting to know you better.”

“Me too,” said Sebastian, but he looked nervous. 

“All right,” Puck said, holding up the front door for Sam and Mercedes. “Later, dudes.”

\- 

Sebastian exhaled as soon as they had shut the door. “She’s scary.”

“You think everyone’s scary,” Kurt pointed out. 

“The whole ‘inviting your friends and family to the wedding so we don’t suffer their wrath’ thing is still on the table,” Sebastian said with a shrug. “Juuuust saying.”

-

The rehearsal dinner, like the wedding, was taking place at Kayla’s parents’ house. It was going to be an informal affair with delivery pizza and a quick run-through of the ceremony so everyone knew their places for the wedding. 

When Kurt and Sebastian arrived, the living room was already full of people. The plan had originally been to have everyone eat outside, but it had been raining on and off all evening. Though the dinner was only for the immediate family, the wedding party, and their dates, it was still a lot of people to fit in the house. 

Kurt had told himself that he would approach Blaine as soon as he saw him so they could talk before Blaine heard anything too upsetting, but Kurt had also been hoping that he’d have a few minutes to prepare himself before he spotted Blaine. Unfortunately, he saw Blaine the moment he walked through the door. Blaine was on the opposite side of the room, smiling as he chatted with Kayla’s sister Mel. He glanced up when he heard the door open, and he and Kurt locked eyes for a moment before Kurt lost his nerve and turned to Sebastian. 

“Is there anyone I need to introduce you to?” Kurt asked. “I can’t remember if you’ve met everyone. Did you meet Kayla’s dad?”

“No,” Sebastian replied. “I also haven’t met Blaine.”

Kurt let out a nervous laugh. “It’s probably best for everyone if you two never meet, actually.”

“Yeah?” Sebastian asked, raising an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”

“Well… it would be awkward,” replied Kurt. “Also, I don’t think he likes you very much.”

Sebastian frowned. “He doesn’t even know me.”

“He knows that you made me pretend to be engaged to you at a party, and that you had me work all kinds of crazy hours.”

“That shouldn’t bother him now,” Sebastian said, looking unsettled. “You’re not dating anymore.”

“Right,” Kurt replied. He could feel Blaine’s eyes still on him. “Let’s go say hi to everyone.”

Kurt managed to avoid Blaine for another 15 minutes, but he saw Blaine watching him whenever he looked up. Though Kurt tried to avoid looking at him as much as possible, he was able to eventually figure out that Blaine hadn’t brought a date with him. Though this relieved Kurt, part of him had also been hoping Blaine _would_ have a date with him. It would give them more of an excuse to stay far away from each other. 

Blaine waited until Sebastian had left Kurt’s side to approach him. Kurt was leaning against the couch, watching as Sebastian played with toy cars on the floor with Luke and Emma, when Blaine tapped him on the shoulder.

“Can we talk?” Blaine asked, without bothering with a greeting. Though he was hiding it well, Kurt could tell he wasn’t feeling happy or welcoming.

They had to talk, and Kurt knew it, but it didn’t stop him from trying to find another reason to stall. “I think the pizza’s going to be here soon, so…”

“Please?” 

“Yeah. OK.” He was about to ask if Blaine wanted to go find a quieter place, but Blaine started talking before he could get the words out.

“Do you have any idea how it felt to have _Puck_ tell me that you’re engaged?” His voice was quiet but harsh, his eyes flashing with anger. 

“I…” Kurt was taken aback. He had told Blaine not to listen to what other people said. “Didn’t you get my email?” 

“The email, yeah,” Blaine said, letting out a humorless laugh. “It was _very_ informative. Are you engaged or aren’t you, Kurt?”

“Well… yes,” Kurt admitted, toying with the ring on his finger. “But it’s not what you think.”

“Oh? And what do I think?”

Kurt had always been able to hold his own when he and Blaine fought, but the strangeness of the situation made him want to shut down completely. “I… don’t know what you think, but it’s not the truth, because you wouldn’t be this angry.”

“OK, then,” Blaine shot back. “Enlighten me. What _is_ the truth?”

Kurt looked around the crowded living room and bit his lip. “This isn’t a good place to talk about it.”

Blaine huffed out a laugh. “Right. You couldn’t tell me in an email, either, apparently. Where is the appropriate place to talk about it, Kurt?” Before Kurt could reply, Blaine continued, his voice still quiet, but shaking with anger. “Do you know how awful this feels? Do you have _any_ idea? Everyone is looking at me with so much pity, because you’re here flaunting your rich fiancé, or boss, or _whatever_ , and after all we’ve been through, you couldn’t even give me a heads up?”

Blaine looked like he might cry, and it was a look that still got to Kurt after six years. He knew he should apologize for not giving Blaine any notice, but he was feeling backed into a corner, and went on the offensive instead.

“Oh, the way you gave me a heads up before inviting me to your graduation just so I could watch you make out with some guy in front of _everyone_?”

Blaine looked shocked, but before he could respond to Kurt’s accusations, Jackie appeared and placed her hand on Blaine’s shoulder.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she said, “but Blaine, you haven’t met Sarah’s boyfriend yet, right? I’d love to introduce you.” She tugged him toward the front door, and Kurt hoped she caught the grateful smile he shot her on the way. 

Once they were gone, Kurt surveyed the room. It didn’t seem like too many people had noticed their tense exchange of words. That was a relief, but Kurt still felt unsettled.

“Hey,” he heard Sebastian’s voice behind him. Kurt hadn’t even noticed him leave the kids. “Are you OK?”

“Fine,” Kurt replied, but even he knew his voice was too shaky to be convincing. 

“Let’s go outside for a second,” Sebastian said, taking his arm and leading him through the kitchen and out the back door.

Once they were outside sitting on the steps, Kurt felt a lot less like crying. “It’s not raining anymore,” he said to break the silence.

“Yeah,” Sebastian agreed. Then, after a moment, he asked, “What happened? Or do you not want to talk about it?”

Kurt sighed. There wasn’t really a way to tell this story that made him look blameless. “I… never told Blaine what was going on with us. I just sent him a pretty vague email saying that you were going to be here with me, and then I guess Puck told him we were engaged, and…”

“You never told him? Sebastian asked, confused. “I thought you said you told him and Rachel.”

“I told Rachel,” he said. “And I was going to explain everything to Blaine in the email, but I got scared that people might go through my emails if we were under investigation, and-”

He was cut off by Sebastian’s laughter. “I’m sorry,” Sebastian said after a minute. “You’re just so paranoid, it’s hilarious.”

Kurt couldn’t help but smile. “Really, Sebastian? _I’m_ paranoid? This from the guy who’s convinced everyone I know is out to get him?”

They both laughed for another minute before Carole poked her head out the back door, interrupting them.

“Hey, guys,” she said. “The pizza’s here, if you want to come in and eat.”

Sebastian stayed close to Kurt while they ate, which seemed to keep Blaine at bay. Though Kurt knew that he and Blaine would have to talk more at some point, he still wasn’t feeling up to it. He had faith that the two of them could quietly avoid each other through the rest of the rehearsal and the bachelor party. Kurt thought they might even have a chance at the bachelor party to slip away for a few minutes so he could explain the situation. It would be easier, then, without Sebastian’s presence to make Blaine feel tense. 

As everyone was finishing up their pizza, Finn and Kayla stepped into the middle of the living room to address everyone.

“First of all,” Kayla started, “we want to thank everyone for coming. I know a lot of you guys had to travel, and it means a lot to us that you’re here. Mom, Dad, thanks for letting us do everything here. Burt and Carole, thanks so much for all of your help. All of the bridesmaids and groomsmen have been really helpful in planning the wedding, or helping us fix last minute issues,” she said, giving Kurt and Sebastian a smile. 

“Yeah,” Finn added. “Just in case you guys don’t know, Kurt and Sebastian have really helped us out the past few days. Well, actually, Kurt said it was mostly just Sebastian that did it, but… well, you brought him here, so-” He was interrupted when Kayla elbowed him. “Ouch! Um, anyway… I just wanted to say thanks. You’re an awesome brother, Kurt, and you too, Sebastian, since you’ll be my brother soon, too. Oh, did everyone know that Kurt’s engaged? He’s getting married, soon, too! And Sebastian’s really great, so uh… yeah, congratulations, you guys, and… thanks, to everyone, for helping us out and coming to the wedding and everything.”

“It looks like it stopped raining,” said Kayla. “If everyone wants to come to the backyard with us so we can do a quick run-through of the ceremony, that would be great.”

Most of the people in the room started heading toward the back door, but Kurt and Sebastian hung back for a moment, accepting congratulations from the few people at the dinner who hadn’t known about their engagement yet. Blaine avoided all eye contact as he left the room.

“Oh god,” Kurt groaned as soon as he was alone with Sebastian. “That public declaration of how amazing my fiancé is will _really_ not help make Blaine less pissed at me. I swear, Finn has no sense of decorum at all.”

Sebastian winced. “It was rough,” he agreed. “But he was just being nice. He meant well.”

Kurt snorted. “Yeah, Finn always means well.”

“I’m sure it will work out fine,” Sebastian assured him. “Come on, best man,” he said, putting both hands on Kurt’s shoulders and steering him toward the back door. “Your presence is required outside.”

The rehearsal ended up taking a lot longer than it should have. For some reason, the fact that the seating had not been set up yet posed a major problem for Finn, and he was worried that he’d get confused at the actual wedding. Luke, predictably, had trouble understanding his role in the proceedings as the ringbearer. Things were eventually sorted out, though, and they were able to do a run-through of the ceremony. 

Puck, Sam, Blaine, and Mercedes left as soon as they finished, with Puck telling Finn he had some bachelor party prep to do. Kurt could tell by the way Finn’s face lost its color that he thought Puck meant something like driving to the party’s venue to let the strippers in. In reality, Puck was just leaving to drop Mercedes off at her parents’ house, and then go pick up Artie, Finn’s only bachelor party invitee who was in town that night and not at the rehearsal dinner. After that, Puck, Sam, Blaine, and Artie would head to Finn and Kurt’s parents’ house to do some last minute set-up. Finn still wasn’t sure where the party was being held, and it was Kurt’s job to get him there. Bryan, the other groomsman who Finn knew from the tire shop, had informed them earlier that his daughter was sick, so he wouldn’t be able to attend the party as planned. Kurt assumed it had more to do with the fact that he didn’t really know any of the other guys attending the party, and had little desire to spend the whole night dealing with a group of unfamiliar guys 10 years his junior. 

After saying their goodbyes to everyone, Kurt and Sebastian led Finn out to their rental car so they could drive him to the bachelor party. Finn seemed more nervous than excited.

“Where are we going?” he asked as he sat down in the passenger seat next to Kurt. Sebastian, surprisingly, had not complained about being forced into the back seat.

“You’ll see,” Kurt replied. It wouldn’t be a secret for much longer, but it was still fun to make Finn suffer. “You’re lucky I’m the one bringing you, you know. Puck really wanted to blindfold you.”

“Dude, a blindfold?” Finn said, distressed. “Where the hell are we _going_?”

“Um, a blindfold so it would be a surprise ‘til the very last minute,” Kurt said, furrowing his brow. He really didn’t want to know what had just passed through Finn’s mind. “Not for… whatever it is you’re thinking.”

“Oh.” Finn sighed in relief. “Good.” He still nervously tapped his fingers on his leg for the remainder of the drive to Burt and Carole’s house.

“Oh, hey,” he said when Kurt pulled into the driveway. “This is our house.”

Before Kurt could utter a sarcastic reply, Sebastian snorted and said, “Wow, nothing gets by you, huh?”

“I just mean… what are we doing here?” Finn asked. 

“We have to pick up some stuff before we go,” Kurt replied as he turned the car off.

Finn’s face fell. “The party’s at that hotel in Dayton, isn’t it?”

Kurt tried not to laugh. He really wanted to make the most out of these last few moments of torturing his brother, so he closed his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. “Yes, we’re going to Dayton. How the hell did you figure it out?”

“I heard Mom and Burt talking about the reservations,” Finn said.

“I’ll kill them,” Kurt seethed. “ _No one_ knows how to keep a secret anymore. You’ll still have to act surprised though, OK?” He opened the car door and stepped out of the vehicle. “I need some help with my bags,” he said, sticking his head back into the car. 

Both Finn and Sebastian exited the car as well. Finn walked up the drive ahead of them, probably so Kurt wouldn’t see the disappointment on his face about the trip to Dayton. 

“You’re a terrible brother, you know,” Sebastian whispered to Kurt. 

“It’s all in good fun,” Kurt whispered back. “When he realizes we’re not dragging him to a fancy hotel in Dayton, he’ll probably burst into joyful tears.”

Sebastian let out a quiet laugh. “I hope I see that before I head upstairs.”

Kurt stopped walking and turned to Sebastian. “You can stay at the party, you know,” he said. “I’d feel bad if you were just hiding out upstairs all night.”

“I don’t mind, really,” Sebastian said. “Plus, I really don’t think your boyfriend wants me there.”

“Ex-boyfriend,” Kurt corrected. “You’re right, though. I guess it could get awkward.”

Finn, who had reached the door but hadn’t gone inside, turned to look at them. “Hey, Kurt? I think I left my keys at Kayla’s parents’ house.”

Kurt approached Finn and unlocked the door for him, then stepped aside so Finn could enter first. Kurt and Sebastian followed him in, and as soon as Finn turned on the lights in the living room, a chorus of voices yelled “SURPRISE!”

Finn took in the sight in front of him. Sam, Puck, Blaine, and Artie were behind the coffee table, which had been covered in bottles of beer and various types of liquor, bags of chips, jars of salsa, and an array of blu-rays and video games. He looked back at Kurt, his mouth agape. 

“Surprise,” Kurt said, grinning. 

“This is so cool,” Finn exclaimed, giving Kurt a hug. “Thank you!”

When Finn turned back to greet the rest of the guys, Sebastian squeezed Kurt’s shoulder and started heading toward the stairs. 

“Hey!” Finn called. “You’re staying, right?”

Sebastian paused. “Nah, man, it’s for your friends. I’m just going to go catch up on work stuff.”

“You can’t just sit up there alone all night while we have, like, the best party ever,” Finn argued. “You’re basically family now anyway, dude, and since Bryan canceled, you can take his spot!”

“There aren’t ‘spots,’ Finn,” Kurt pointed out. “There’s a living room and excessive amounts of alcohol and junk food.”

“Right, and Sebastian should have some of it,” Finn replied. He turned his attention back to Sebastian. “Come on, man, you pretty much singlehandedly saved my wedding. You _have_ to stay at my bachelor party!”

Sebastian gave Kurt a helpless look, and Kurt sighed. “Look, Finn, it’s not a good idea, OK?” Kurt didn’t want to stand there in front of everyone and explain how awkward it would be for him to be at a bachelor party with his ex and the guy he had convinced his family he was now in love with, so he hoped Finn could read that in his tone.

Of course, Kurt wasn’t so lucky. Finn just frowned and kept trying to convince Sebastian to stay. “But you’re practically in the wedding party! Like, I’d make you a groomsman if I could! Maybe even best man. You’ve done more than any of these guys for the wedding.”

“Not cool, man,” Sam said. “I brought all the _Star Wars_ movies, OK? That’s important.”

“Yeah, thanks, Finn,” Kurt said, his voice flat. “That feels great.”

“No offense,” Finn replied. “You’re a good best man, too, Kurt. It’s awesome that you didn’t make me go to a fancy hotel, or get me strippers.” He looked around suspiciously. “There… aren’t strippers, right?”

“No strippers,” Puck confirmed. “Hummel put his foot down.”

While Artie booed loudly, Finn smiled in relief. “Awesome. So, yeah, Sebastian, you should totally stay.”

“Finn,” Kurt hissed, tugging his brother’s arm and pulling him a few steps back. “It’s going to be _very_ awkward for Blaine if you make Sebastian stay.” He tried to keep his voice as quiet as possible, but it was pretty clear the whole room knew what he had said.

“Oh,” Finn said, looking puzzled. “Um. OK, then. Sorry, man, you can go upstairs,” he told Sebastian.

Blaine, who had been avoiding everyone’s eyes since the conversation began, finally glanced up at Sebastian. “I think you should stay,” Blaine said. His tone was casual, but no one in the room was fooled.

Kurt hoped Sebastian would ignore Blaine’s challenge and just head up to the bedroom, but he wasn’t surprised when it didn’t happen.

“OK,” Sebastian said, keeping his eyes on Blaine as he walked back to Kurt’s side and placed an arm around his shoulder. “I will.”

Artie and Puck shared a wide-eyed, ‘oh, shit’ look with each other. Finn, who seemed to have finally realized why this was a bad idea, looked terrified. Kurt wished he could disappear. Usually, he rather enjoyed the whole jealous boyfriend routine, but since neither one of these men was his boyfriend, it was mostly just uncomfortable.

“OK,” Sam said after a minute, clapping his hands together. “Who wants to watch _Star Wars_?”

-

By the time they were finishing _A New Hope_ , some of the awkwardness had faded. The amount of alcohol everyone had consumed certainly hadn’t hurt. Artie and Sam had decided it would be a good idea to bring up the TV from the basement, so they could watch a movie and play a video game at the same time. The second television was placed on the floor, and Finn and Puck were in front of it, playing some sort of war game that Kurt was unfamiliar with. Sam was seated on the couch next to Blaine, mouthing the words along with the movie, and Artie’s chair was between the couch and the loveseat, where Kurt and Sebastian were seated. 

Blaine hadn’t talked about anything except the movie since they had started watching, but he kept a close eye on what Kurt and Sebastian were doing, and the fact that Blaine was drinking while already upset made Kurt nervous. Because Kurt knew he had no right to police Blaine’s alcohol intake, he dealt with his anxiety by drinking more than he had planned.

“Hey, can we take a little break before we start the next movie?” Finn asked. He paused the video game and got up from the floor, which caused Puck to grumble. “Can’t help it, dude, I need to stretch for a minute, and I don’t want to miss the beginning.”

Kurt was about to get up, thinking it would be a good time to use the bathroom, when Artie turned to him. “So you guys are getting married, huh? Did you pick a date yet?”

“Um…” Kurt glanced at Blaine, but wasn’t sure how to change the subject without being rude. “Not yet, no.”

“It will probably be soon,” Sebastian said, pulling Kurt closer to him.

Suddenly, Sam was getting up off the couch and pulling Blaine with him. “Come down to the basement with me? I need to grab more beer.”

“The beer’s not in the basement,” Puck pointed out. Sam smacked him on the back of the head as he led Blaine toward the stairs.

“I’m invited, right?” Artie asked, unfazed by Blaine and Sam’s exit. 

“Sure,” Kurt said. “Why not?” He stood up and wobbled a bit, but Sebastian held out an arm to steady him. 

“Awesome,” Artie said. “Field trip to New York, y’all!”

“Who’s going to New York?” Sam asked as he reentered the room. 

“All of us!” Artie exclaimed. “Well… maybe not Blaine,” he added, looking around the room. “Where _is_ Blaine? Did you lose him?”

“He’ll be back in a minute,” Sam replied. 

Kurt, remembering why he had gotten up, announced, “I have to pee. And I don’t care if you start the movie without me, because I fucking hate _Star Wars_.” He laughed as his statement was met with scandalized gasps and a chorus of boos. 

On his way back from the bathroom, Kurt decided to grab another can of Coke from the refrigerator to mix with the rum in the living room, but he stopped short when he saw Sebastian and Blaine standing alone in the kitchen. It looked like they were talking. Kurt assumed that Sebastian was trying to rile Blaine up even more, and part of him wanted to rush in there, tell Blaine not to believe anything Sebastian said, because he and Sebastian weren’t actually in a relationship at all. Kurt wanted to tell everyone that, actually, at this stage of intoxication. He was sick of lying, and anyway, it was a pretty cool story. Before Kurt could make a decision about what to do, Sebastian almost walked into him as he exited the kitchen. 

“Hey,” Sebastian said, startled. “Eavesdropping, huh?” 

“I couldn’t even hear what you were saying,” Kurt admitted, pulling Sebastian away from the kitchen. “So… what were you saying? Did one of you threaten to beat the other up?”

Sebastian laughed. “No. I was just… introducing myself.”

Kurt might have believed that if Blaine hadn’t left the kitchen at that moment, looking angry. “Please stop trying to make this awkward, OK?” he whispered as soon as Blaine was out of earshot.

“I’m not trying to make it awkward,” Sebastian insisted. Kurt raised an eyebrow at him. “OK,” Sebastian relented, “maybe I was a little bit before. But just now all I did was tell him to go easy on the drinking.” 

“Sebastian! You can’t tell adults what to do!” Sebastian laughed. “No, seriously,” Kurt continued. “That’s why they’re adults.” 

Sebastian snorted. “You might want to think about cutting yourself off, too.”

Kurt ignored him. “How drunk is Blaine? Is he really drunk?” 

“He’s not that bad,” Sebastian replied. “But you freak out every time he takes a sip, and I don’t want you to have a panic attack.” 

“I’m not freaking out,” Kurt said, trying to control his pout. “Are _you_ drunk?” 

“Nope,” Sebastian said. “You’re the only drunk one, sweetheart.”

Kurt, who could see Puck parading around the living room with a lampshade on his head, sincerely doubted that. Though Kurt wanted to comment on that, he was distracted by the pet name Sebastian had used. _Sweetheart._ He’d been using words like that since the whole fake engagement debacle started back in December, but this was the first time his voice had sounded affectionate rather than sarcastic. Kurt liked it, which meant he was drunker than he thought. 

“They’re starting the movie,” Sebastian pointed out, and Kurt glanced into the living room. Finn and Puck had gone back to playing their video game, Artie was messing with the remote, and Sam was doing a Darth Vader impression for Blaine, who actually looked mildly amused.

“I love Sam,” Kurt said with a happy sigh. He knew that Sam had done a lot that night to try and keep Blaine distracted. 

“Sam, huh?” Sebastian teased. “So I have even _more_ competition?”

“No, no, no,” Kurt replied. “Mercedes would kill me.” He took in the scene in front of him for another moment and sighed. “I really have to tell Blaine what’s going on.”

“Yeah,” Sebastian agreed. “But how about you wait until tomorrow when you’re sober? This party’s awkward enough as it is.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Kurt admitted.

The rest of the party passed by in a blur. Kurt thought they might have gotten through the original trilogy, but he had trouble telling the movies apart in his state. He didn’t take Sebastian’s advice about avoiding more alcohol, either, because it made everything feel more relaxed. He didn’t even feel self-conscious when he leaned back against Sebastian on the loveseat, with Sebastian’s arm wrapped around his chest. 

That was the last semi-clear memory of the bachelor party Kurt had the next morning when he woke up in his own bed, pressed up against Sebastian, which had become the norm on this trip. After extracting himself from Sebastian and finding his cell phone on the nightstand next to him, he realized it was after nine, so he shook Sebastian awake.

“It’s getting late,” Kurt croaked. “We should get up.”

“Wow, you sound great,” Sebastian said.

“Yeah, thanks,” Kurt grumbled, collapsing back against his pillows. “Ugh, having a bachelor party the night before the wedding was such a stupid idea. Whoever made that decision was an idiot.”

“Wasn’t that you?“

“Lots of people have bachelor parties the night before the wedding,” was Kurt’s defense. “It’s just… how it works.”

“You know,” Sebastian said, resting on his elbow as he gave Kurt a teasing grin, “it probably wouldn’t have been such a bad idea if you hadn’t decided to drink all of the alcohol in the house.”

“Oh, shut up,” Kurt snapped. “You’re _supposed_ to get drunk at a bachelor party.”

“You’re right, it’s the party’s fault,” Sebastian replied. “The whole bachelor party institution, actually. It’s out to get you.”

“Yep,” Kurt agreed. “We’ll outsmart the whole system, though, and have our bachelor parties a few days before.”

“Oh, we’re having bachelor parties now?” Sebastian asked, grinning. 

“I… well, probably not,” Kurt said. “But _if_ we did, they would not be the night before the wedding. No one is going to be hung over at my wedding.”

“I probably will be,” Sebastian said. 

Kurt thought about hitting him with his pillow, but decided it was too much effort to sit up. “I hate you,” was how he settled on dealing with it.

Sebastian still looked amused. “Oh? Can I ask how your hangover is my fault?”

“Well, having my ex and my fiancé at the same party gave me a reason to drink.” It was true, but Kurt thought that the party might have been even more nerve-wracking for him _without_ Sebastian there. He remembered Sebastian being a calming presence for him, staying relatively sober, allowing Kurt to lean against him, and asking Blaine to stop drinking. Kurt got a sudden vision of kissing Sebastian on the same loveseat they had watched the movies from, and he clapped a hand over his mouth. “Oh my god, did we make out last night?”

Kurt could tell by Sebastian’s confused face that it hadn’t happened. “Uh, no,” Sebastian said. “Definitely not.”

“Must’ve been a dream,” Kurt mused. “Weird.” He was immediately embarrassed about admitting that he might have been dreaming about kissing Sebastian, but he didn’t have too much time to dwell on it, because at that moment, they heard a snort come from the floor next to Kurt’s side of the bed. Kurt was terrified and couldn’t help but scream while Sebastian clutched at his arm. They both peeked over the side of the bed and found Artie lying on couch cushions below them. Kurt turned back to Sebastian. “Why is Artie on the floor of my bedroom?”

“That I don’t know,” Sebastian said. 

“When did you come up here?” Kurt asked Artie.

“And… _how_?” asked Sebastian. By this time, Sam, Blaine, Finn, and Puck, who had heard Kurt’s scream, had gathered in doorway. 

“Skills,” Artie replied.

“Seriously,” Kurt said. “Why were you creeping around our bedroom while we were asleep?”

Blaine cleared his throat. “Uh, Puck thought it would be really funny if we brought him up here.” 

“It _was_ funny,” Puck insisted.

Kurt was happy that Blaine didn’t seem as angry as he had been last night, but he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes. “And why would you listen to anything Puck said? He was using a lampshade as a hat!”

Sam snorted. “To be fair, I think we all did that at some point last night.”

All Kurt could do was hope that there were no pictures to prove it. 

“So,” Puck said to Artie, “did you hear anything good?”

“Nope,” Artie said. “They bickered for a while and Kurt _dreamed_ of making out with Sebastian. Boooooring!”

“Well, we didn’t know we had an audience,” Sebastian replied. “We can put on a show for you later, if you’d like.”

Artie actually looked intrigued, but Finn coughed loudly before he could reply. “Can we please stop talking about my brother’s sex life?”

Kurt collapsed back onto his pillow, fully aware that Finn’s plea just meant that Puck would now start discussing Kurt’s sex life with everyone in the room. As he heard them all sharing a laugh at his expense, Kurt closed his eyes and tried to be grateful that, if nothing else, all of them had survived the bachelor party.

Now, they just had to get through the wedding. After all the stress that Kurt had dealt with the day before, he was sure the wedding day activities would feel as relaxing as a day at the spa.


	11. Chapter 11

Though it took all of the guys a lot more time than it should have to get cleaned up, fed, and dressed in clean clothes, they managed to arrive at Kayla’s parents’ house by noon. Surprisingly, it seemed like everything was going well. Everyone in the wedding party was there, it hadn’t started raining yet, the food was being worked on, the tent and chairs had been set up, and Kayla’s dad had gone to pick up the cake from the bakery. Kurt couldn’t believe that it actually seemed like everything was going to work out.

What surprised Kurt even more was that it seemed like it was going to be a wonderful wedding. Casual, of course, but fun and exciting, with so many people helping out. It was a warm, loving environment, and everything looked great. It wasn’t a wedding Kurt would have planned for himself, but it really suited Finn and Kayla. 

Kurt’s own wedding would definitely be indoors. He just wasn’t a fan of being outside, and for a wedding it seemed like an especially bad idea. The weather might not behave. People could get wet, muddy, or sunburned. Indoors was a much better option. At the very least, there would be no bugs to deal with. If he and Sebastian actually went through with their wedding, they would have to find a place to have it on pretty short notice. The next few weeks at work before Sebastian left would probably be fairly relaxed, though, and Kurt and Sebastian would have plenty of time if they wanted to plan a wedding. With Sebastian’s money, the short notice wouldn’t be a problem. They could afford to rent a hall, order flowers, hire a caterer, pay for tux rentals and bridesmaid dresses and maybe even everyone’s travel arrangements. Kurt had told Sebastian yesterday that they shouldn’t have a wedding, but it was starting to seem like a good idea. It would make everything seem less suspicious, appease Kurt’s friends and family, and it would be _fun_ , too. Since Kurt and Sebastian’s reconciliation the other night, the prospect of marrying Sebastian had become a lot more exciting for Kurt. With all the lying they were doing, it was starting to actually feel like they were a normal engaged couple, not two people mutually using each other. There could be a wedding, and even after Sebastian no longer worked at _La Chance_ , they would see each other every month to keep up appearances. They could still be friends, and Kurt felt pretty certain that they would be. 

Kurt had barely finished marveling at how the whole wedding had managed to come together when the relief was extinguished by another crisis. A few hours had passed, and almost everything had been set up. The guys were all dressed for the wedding, and, as far as Kurt knew, the women were inside getting ready. He was standing alone by the back steps, watching Sebastian continue his baseball game with Emma and Luke, who were, thankfully, not yet dressed for the wedding, when Kayla poked her head out of the back door. Kurt turned to say hello, and was greeted by a look of pure terror on her face.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?” he asked, mentally preparing himself for yet another last minute disaster. He didn’t know her that well, but she always seemed calm and in control, so he knew something terrible must have happened. “Did something happen with the cake?”

She didn’t answer him, but poked her head out further and scanned the yard. “Is Finn here?”

“Um…” Kurt gave a quick look around the year himself. “I know he’s around here somewhere. Do you want me to find him?”

“No!” Kayla shrieked. “Don’t, oh my god, not right now.”

“OK, OK,” Kurt soothed. “Why, are you wearing your dress?” He could only see her from the neck up, and her makeup and hair had already been done, so it was a possibility. When she shook her head, Kurt asked, “Are you… naked?”

“No,” she said, pulling the door open a bit more and tugging him inside to the empty kitchen. She was dressed in cutoff jean shorts and an oversized plaid button down shirt, but her hair and makeup looked wonderful. 

“You look so good!” Kurt told her. “Who did your makeup?” 

“I can’t do this, Kurt,” was her reply. “I can’t get married. Why did I think this would be a good idea?”

“You’re… you’re getting cold feet? _Now_?” Kurt had always assumed this wasn’t something that actually happened in real life. People were excited for their weddings, not terrified, and if they couldn’t realize until they put on their wedding dress that they weren’t ready to get married… well, they were an idiot, as far as Kurt was concerned.

“It’s not cold feet,” she insisted. “I’ve made a huge mistake. I mean… I can’t agree to be with the same person for the rest of my life! Why would anyone do that?”

“Well,” Kurt said, “it’s not _actually_ a binding contract, you know. There’s always divorce, if it doesn’t work out, or even annulment, if you can convince a judge that Finn lied to you about something. Like, you could say he has an STD, or he’s gay, or-” 

Kayla cut him off with a sob. Kurt had no idea what to say. He could think of a ton of good reasons not to marry Finn, but he didn’t think Kayla had doubts about the same things. She was just panicking, and Kurt was not the right person to help her.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Please don’t cry, sweetie, OK? You’re going to ruin your makeup.” He gave another desperate look around the kitchen and then peeked into the living room, hoping to find someone to help him, but there was no one around. Where were the bridesmaids? He barely knew this woman, and clearly he was doing nothing to calm her. “Umm… OK, why don’t you go wait in Gabby’s room, and I’m going to find your sisters or Adrienne or… someone. Do you know where they are?” Kayla just buried her face in her hands. “OK, great, thanks, that’s very helpful,” he muttered, leading her into the living room and toward the staircase leading to the upstairs bedrooms. “Go upstairs, OK? I’ll be back in a minute.”

Kurt didn’t want Finn walking in on this mess by accident, so he made sure she walked all the way up the stairs before he rushed out the back door, hoping to find one of the bridesmaids. He ran into Sebastian as soon as he had come down the back steps.

“Hey, I was just coming to find you,” Sebastian said, greeting him with a warm grin. Upon seeing the panic on Kurt’s face, though, he frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Kayla’s upstairs sobbing because she has suddenly decided she doesn’t want to marry Finn,” Kurt said. He was trying to keep his voice even, but it came out sounding hysterical, anyway. “And I have no idea where the bridesmaids are, and clearly I can’t help her, and this whole wedding that _somehow_ managed to not fall apart yet is going to be a disaster because the bride ca-”

“Kurt,” Sebastian said, grabbing his shoulders. “Relax. Breathe, OK?”

“I _am_ breathing,” Kurt snapped.

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Look, Finn’s under the tent with the rest of the guys, why don’t you go make sure he doesn’t go in the house?”

“I need to find Adrienne, or one of her sisters, though, Sebastian! She’s in full meltdown mode right now. Can you believe it? Are we _actually_ in a movie?”

“I think they’re down the street at a neighbor’s house, they were using multiple ovens, I guess,” Sebastian explained. “I have Adrienne’s number, I’ll just give her a call, and then I’ll go try and keep Kayla functioning until they get here.”

Though Kurt wasn’t sure Sebastian possessed the skill set required to deal with a panicking bride, he was glad to give the burden to someone else. “You’re sure? I told her I’d be right back…”

“Yeah, just… stay out here. Seeing you all worked up isn’t going to help her calm down. You probably already freaked her out.”

“I was completely calm in front of her,” Kurt insisted. “I even gave her advice!” He decided not to tell Sebastian that the advice included trying to convince a judge that Finn had a sexually transmitted disease.

Even without the specifics, Sebastian seemed to have an idea that Kurt’s advice might not have been that great. “Just make sure to keep Finn away from the house for a little while, OK?” Sebastian pulled his phone out of his pocket and started scrolling through his contacts as he walked away. “I’ll text you when it’s safe,” he called over his shoulder.

-

Kurt managed to stay calm around Finn and Puck, who were hanging out inside the tent admiring the plastic windows. Finn didn’t seem to be having any wedding panic of his own, so Kurt just made sure he knew to stay out of the house unless he had someone go inside to make sure Kayla wasn’t walking around in her dress first. He saw Adrienne and Jackie hurrying across the yard and into the back door a few minutes later, and it wasn’t long before he got a text from Sebastian saying that everything was taken care of, but the girls were getting dressed upstairs, so Finn still had to keep away from there. Kurt reminded the guys one more time to not barge into the house without warning and then headed out of the tent to find Sebastian. 

It only took Kurt a minute to spot him. Sebastian was by the backyard shed, where Kayla’s parents kept the lawn care supplies, bikes, and toys for the grandchildren. He had been putting away the wiffle bat and ball that he had been using with Emma and Luke earlier, but he stopped when he saw Kurt. 

“Hey,” Sebastian greeted him. “How’s Finn?”

“Oh, he’s fine.” Kurt replied. “Really enthralled by the tent.”

Sebastian laughed. “I’m glad.”

“So… Kayla’s calmed down?”

“Yeah, she’s good,” Sebastian said. “It was just pre-wedding jitters.”

Kurt frowned. “I don’t know, it seemed pretty serious to me.”

“Yeah?” Sebastian asked, smirking. “Is that why you attempted to comfort her by talking about the wonders of divorce?”

“That’s not exactly how it went down,” Kurt replied, though he couldn’t help but smile. “I’m really not that bad at handling stuff like this, normally, but I don’t know her very well, and-”

“And you’re still mad that she didn’t let you help plan her wedding,” Sebastian added.

Kurt didn’t bother denying it. “We’re just… not close.”

“Yet,” Sebastian replied. He dropped the bat and ball inside the shed and shut the door. “Now that she has been talked down and the wedding is on, it seems like you guys will be family for a looong time.”

“Hopefully,” Kurt said. “I can’t even imagine how insufferable Finn would be during the divorce process.”

Sebastian gave him a warm smile. “We’ll be optimistic, then,” he said, taking a step forward so he could straighten Kurt’s tie. “Let’s just celebrate the fact that yet another wedding crisis has been averted.”

“Thanks to you,” Kurt said. “You calmed down the crazy bride, rented the tent, and somehow managed to get a wedding cake at the last minute.” He sighed. “God, I’m a terrible best man. I couldn’t have fixed any of that.”

“Come on, Kurt, I used money,” Sebastian replied, moving his hands from Kurt’s collar to his shoulders. “That’s cheating.”

Kurt raised an eyebrow. “You paid Kayla off to get her to calm down?”

Sebastian laughed. “Well, no, that one was just my natural charm, I suppose. Everything else, though… I just threw money at people until they did what I wanted.”

“Right, and I can’t even do that,” Kurt pointed out.

“You would have figured it all out,” Sebastian said, looking Kurt straight in the eye. “I did it the easy way, but you would have made it all happen somehow.”

“Oh, come on,” Kurt dismissed, averting his eyes as he tried to break free of Sebastian’s grip.

“No, seriously,” Sebastian insisted, holding him in place. “I have no doubt that you would have. The stuff I’ve seen you do at the magazine is _amazing_ , Kurt. You get things done, no matter what. You don’t give up. You’re just… really crafty, and smart.”

When Kurt looked up at Sebastian’s face again, he was surprised to find that Sebastian was staring at his lips. He flicked his eyes back up to Kurt’s, giving him a questioning look. Kurt felt a little thrill rush through him - Sebastian wanted to kiss him. Even stranger, Kurt _wanted_ Sebastian to kiss him. 

That thought snapped him back to reality. Was he just projecting his own previously unknown desires onto Sebastian? Why would he think Sebastian would want to kiss him? Sebastian had been so wonderful the past few days while playing his role that Kurt had managed to get a little too caught up in it. No one was around, so there would be no benefit to their audience. There was no reason for them to do anything romantic at all, and Kurt felt embarrassed for misreading the situation. 

“Look, Sebastian,” he said, stepping backward and freeing himself from Sebastian’s grip, “you really don’t have to be so nice to me when no one’s around. In fact, I’d prefer it if you weren’t. It’s… weird.”

Sebastian looked confused and hurt. “Weird?” he asked. “It’s weird that I’m nice to you? We’re friends, Kurt.”

“Right,” Kurt agreed. “And as your friend, I know that this isn’t how you behave.” He took his eyes off of Sebastian so he could get through the next part. “I’d appreciate it if you could just save the performance for the wedding guests.”

Sebastian immediately closed himself off. “You’re right,” he said, taking a few steps back to put more distance between them. “I should go see if they need more help with the food. You know, get back to my _role_.” 

After giving Kurt a chance to reply and getting nothing, Sebastian walked off. The last time Kurt had heard Sebastian sound so cold was during their fight about the feature the month before. It unsettled him, having someone he had grown so close to be this angry with him. Kurt felt like crying, which he knew was ridiculous. This was for the best. Kurt may have been daydreaming about their wedding earlier that day, but he and Sebastian were not actually interested in each other. Sebastian had just gotten too wrapped up in his attempts to please everyone and forgotten that he didn’t have to impress Kurt.

The rain started falling before Kurt had time to collect himself and head back to the tent. 

-

Somehow, despite the rain, poor planning, a panicking bride, and Kurt’s various guy troubles, the wedding was a success. Though most of the guests got wet traipsing across the yard to get inside the tent, the rain stopped before the bride made her entrance. The ceremony itself was simple and didn’t take very long. Once the receiving line and wedding photos had been completed, Finn and Kayla shared their first dance before the rest of the wedding party joined them in the area of the tent they had sectioned off as the dance floor. 

As soon as Kurt started dancing with Adrienne, she collapsed against his chest, wrapping her arms around him tightly. “It’s over,” she moaned. “Thank God it’s over.”

Kurt laughed and hugged her back. He understood her relief. He was feeling it, too. “It was a nice ceremony,” he said. “You guys did a good job.”

She snorted as she took a step back from Kurt so they could continue their dance. “It would have been a nightmare without you and Sebastian,” she said. “But thank you for saying that.”

“Finn and Kayla would have loved it no matter what.” He only meant to reassure her, but Kurt realized as soon as the words left his mouth that they were true. Adrienne just smiled up at him, and they finished their dance in silence. When they danced by Blaine and Gabby, Kurt glanced over at the table where Sebastian sat with Rachel, Thom, Mercedes, Santana, Danielle, and Artie. Sebastian was already looking at Kurt, but he didn’t seem amused when Kurt tried to direct his attention to Blaine dancing with an eighth grade girl who was the same size as him.

Sebastian was still keeping his eye on Kurt after the dances had finished and everyone was eating. Kurt had been sitting with the rest of the wedding party, but since Finn and Kayla had decided against everyone making speeches, Kurt’s job was done for the evening, so he decided to go join Sebastian. Though he had seemed to be deep in conversation with Thom when Kurt sat down, Sebastian excused himself almost immediately, telling Thom they’d talk more later. Kurt sighed and tried not to let the rest of the table know how upset he was.

“Trouble in paradise?” Artie asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Not at all,” Kurt said as he picked up his fork. “Everything’s fine.”

-

After another hour of being avoided by Sebastian, Kurt was incredibly frustrated. Though he was trying to have a good time catching up with family members and friends that he hadn’t seen in a long time, Kurt couldn’t get Sebastian off his mind. Every time that Kurt looked around to find him, Sebastian was already looking his way. Sebastian was never alone, though, and he always excused himself immediately after Kurt joined the group of people he was currently talking to, and then Kurt had to stay for a few minutes to catch up, or he would seem rude. He also got roped into dancing with almost everyone he knew. It was maddening.

Kurt had just managed to escape a seemingly never-ending conversation with Sugar when Burt tapped him on the shoulder. 

“Hey, Kurt. Do you have a second?”

Kurt narrowed his eyes. He was already in a terrible mood, and he wasn’t interested in more pointed remarks from his father about his love life. “For another lecture? No, Dad, I really don’t.”

Burt looked surprised. “I wasn’t going to lecture you,” he said. “What’s with you?

“Sorry,” Kurt said, letting out a sigh. “It’s nothing, just… wedding stress.”

“Yeah, I hear ya,” Burt replied. “It all worked out pretty well though, huh?”

“It did,” Kurt agreed. “I can’t believe it.”

“Miracles do happen, I guess. Anyway, I was wondering… since a lot of your friends are in town for the weekend, I thought maybe we could have a small engagement party for you and Sebastian at the house tomorrow night. Finn and Kayla will be gone, of course, but almost everyone else will still be around, I’m sure. Do you think you guys would be interested in that?”

Though Kurt probably wouldn’t enjoy being in room full of people who wanted to hear all the details of his relationship with Sebastian, he also couldn’t imagine spending the day alone with Sebastian while he was ignoring him. At least with other people around, Kurt might have someone to talk to.

“Yeah, I think that would be nice,” Kurt replied. 

“OK,” Burt said. “It won’t be anything too fancy, but mention it to your friends tonight, and we can work out the details in the morning.”

“Sounds good.”

“Look, Kurt… I know I haven’t been all that welcoming to your boyfriend this weekend…”

“Fiancé,” Kurt corrected.

“Right, fiancé, sorry,” Burt said. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I’m going to apologize to him, too, but I just wanted you to know that I am happy for you, OK? I just got overprotective because I love you so much, and this seemed so-”

“Stupid?” suggested Kurt.

Burt raised an eyebrow. “I was going to say fast.” He sighed and rubbed at his forehead. “But Sebastian seems like a good guy, and I can tell you guys really care about each other. You’re an adult now, and I know that you know what you’re doing.”

Kurt couldn’t help the short burst of wild laughter that spilled out of him. “Dad, I… I appreciate the sentiment, but..” He sighed as he spotted Sebastian across the room, talking with Thom, but keeping one eye on Kurt and his father. “I have no idea what I’m doing at all.”

Burt grinned and shook his head. “Bud, I have a secret for you,” he said, pulling Kurt into a hug. “No one does. You’re gonna be just fine.”

Burt was being called to the other side of the tent by Kayla’s father, so he patted Kurt’s shoulder one last time and made his way across the tent. Kurt collapsed into the nearest chair and rested his elbows on the table so he could bury his face in his hands. He just wanted to go back to the house, but even that wouldn’t relieve him of the stress he was facing. How terrible would it be to go back to his bedroom and share a bed with Sebastian when he was this distant? 

Kurt could hear footsteps approaching his table and looked up, hoping it might be Sebastian. It was Blaine, though, so Kurt immediately dropped his head back into his arms.

“Well, hello to you, too,” Blaine said, pulling out the chair next to Kurt and sitting down. When Kurt didn’t respond, he sighed. “I was going to ask you to dance, but you… don’t really seem in the mood.”

“I’m not,” Kurt replied, his voice muffled.

“OK. What if I promised you said dance would also include a sincere apology for my terrible behavior?”

Kurt lifted his head. Though he wasn’t sure he was feeling up to this right now, he knew he had to deal with Blaine eventually. “I suppose that could sway me.”

Blaine grinned. “Good.” He stood up and held out an expectant hand to Kurt, who took it and allowed himself to be pulled out of his chair and led over to the dance area. They had been swaying together quietly for a minute before Blaine spoke again. “Are you OK?”

Kurt bit his lip. “It’s just… been a rough day.”

“Is it because you thought this would be us?” Blaine asked, nodding his head toward Finn and Kayla, who were dancing nearby. 

“Um…” Kurt avoided Blaine’s eyes, feeling embarrassed. That wasn’t why Kurt was upset at all. The thought hadn’t even crossed his mind tonight. He had been too busy worrying about his relationship with Sebastian to spend much time feeling regret over never getting to marry Blaine. Kurt didn’t want to lie, though, not if he and Blaine were supposed to be apologizing to each other. “Not really, no.”

Blaine looked embarrassed as well. “Oh, right,” he said with a self-deprecating laugh. “Me either.” Kurt laughed, too, but it died out as soon as he spotted Sebastian by the dessert table, glaring at them. Blaine glanced over his shoulder to see what had troubled Kurt, then sighed. “I’m really sorry,” he said. “I was a jerk last night. I should have just let you explain. There was no reason for me to bring our issues up at your brother’s wedding. It was immature and petty. I had just gotten myself so worked up in the past few days…”

“From the email?” Kurt asked.

“I didn’t open the email until after I’d gotten a text from Puck telling me you were engaged,” explained Blaine. “And all your email said was that you didn’t want to discuss it over email, and I just…” He paused for a moment, then sighed. “It sucked,” he finished. “I was already so nervous about seeing you again, and then everyone was talking about how you were engaged, and, I mean, even your family believed it, so I had no idea what to think.”

Kurt sighed. “I’m sorry I was vague. And that Puck couldn’t keep his mouth shut.” Blaine snorted. “Can I explain now?”

“Yeah,” Blaine said. “I mean, I know you can’t actually be marrying him, right? Or, if you are, it’s not because… I just don’t understand why convincing _your_ family that you guys are engaged is necessary to please some board member he lied to.”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with board members,” Kurt explained. “Sebastian’s, um… he needs a green card. His work visa is expiring, and his uncle isn’t keeping him around at the magazine.”’

Blaine looked shocked for a second before bursting into laughter. “Seriously?” he asked, halting their lazy dance. “Oh my god, Kurt, your life is a Sandra Bullock movie!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kurt said, rolling his eyes. “Laugh it up. My life is hilarious.”

“Aw, come on,” Blaine said, giving his shoulder a squeeze. “It could be worse, right? At least it’s not _Speed._ ”

“Very funny.”

“A green card marriage,” Blaine mused after he stopped laughing. “That’s… wow. What’s in it for you?”

“Um…” Kurt trailed off. He felt ashamed to admit everything out loud. “He’s going to run a feature on my designs in his last issue before he leaves. And I get to live rent-free, by myself, in this really great apartment in Manhattan for a few years.” When Blaine didn’t immediately reply, Kurt got defensive. “You don’t get to judge me, OK? This isn’t actually your business anymore.”

“I know,” Blaine said. “I’m not…” He sighed, then paused to gather his thoughts. “I understand why you would do this,” he said after a moment. “It will be really great for your career. And I know you already know this, but I truly believe that your fashion line would have happened eventually, without any help.”

“I know,” Kurt said, looking down so Blaine couldn’t see how emotional he was getting. “Thank you for reminding me, though. It means a lot.” Blaine had always been so supportive of all of Kurt’s dreams, even when he didn’t understand them or know how to help at all, and the thought that Kurt might still be able to have this from Blaine was overwhelming. He wrapped his arms around Blaine before he could talk himself out of it. Blaine seemed surprised at first, but he hugged back after a moment.

“I’m sorry for not being upfront with you about what was going on,” Kurt said when they separated. “It’s been such a crazy week. I didn’t mean to make you feel embarrassed. I know it must have been awful, having someone tell you I’m engaged. And, um… I’m sorry for bringing up what happened at graduation. It had nothing to do with this. Oh, and sorry for whatever Sebastian said to you in the kitchen last night. He can be really… difficult.”

Blaine chuckled. “He didn’t say anything terrible,” he said. “I mean, it’s clear the guy doesn’t like me, but it wasn’t that bad.”

Kurt was surprised. “No?”

“No. He cares about you. You know that, right?”

Kurt snorted. “That’s not really true.”

“Yeah?” Blaine asked. “Then why has he been glaring at me ever since we started dancing?”

“He’s glaring at _me_ ,” Kurt corrected him. “Because he’s mad at me, and because he probably thinks dancing with my ex isn’t a good way to convince people I’m in love with him.”

“You like him, though,” Blaine said.

“I… no. We’re friendly, but-”

“I know you do,” Blaine interrupted. “I always knew you liked him.”

Kurt frowned. “Are you accusing me of something?”

“Not at all,” Blaine replied, his voice still calm. “I didn’t mean _that_ , I just mean that you liked him, as a person, way more than you let on. You like people that challenge you, I know that. You worked all those long hours, agreed to go to that gala… you wouldn’t have done that for just anyone.”

“I wanted to help him,” Kurt insisted. “That’s all.”

“I know,” replied Blaine with a small smile. “You always want to help people who don’t deserve it.” Kurt started to protest, but Blaine continued. “No, it’s a good thing. It’s one of my favorite things about you, actually. You give people second chances, you don’t just write them off.” He paused for a moment, then sighed. “And about graduation…”

“You don’t have to explain,” Kurt said. “It’s not my business.”

“It is, though,” Blaine insisted. “I never would have been so… affectionate if I had known you were watching. It was a rough day for me, I was so nervous about seeing you, and you know how much my parents stress me out. I’m sorry. I just… I wanted to make sure you knew it wasn’t something that had been going on while I was with you.”

“I never thought that,” Kurt assured him. Thinking of the kiss he had seen in the lobby still hurt a bit, but Kurt wanted to be supportive after putting Blaine through such emotional turmoil that weekend. “So, um… is it serious? I know you’re moving soon, so…”

Blaine looked embarrassed. “It wasn’t… um. I mean, it’s over now. The whole thing was sort of this… awkward, rebound sort of… trainwreck.”

“That bad, huh?” Kurt asked, cringing.

“Yeah,” Blaine replied. “I wasn’t ready for a relationship at all. He wanted me, but I just wanted… someone, and he was there. It wasn’t fair to him at all.” He sighed. “I just… I think I still need a little time to sort myself out. When I move, I think I really just want to start over, you know?”

Kurt caught a glimpse of Sebastian over Blaine’s shoulder, still glaring in their direction. “Yeah,” Kurt said. Starting over would be nice. 

-

It didn’t take much longer for Kurt to finally catch Sebastian sitting by himself at a table in the corner.

“Hey,” he said, taking the seat next to Sebastian. “Can we talk?”

“I guess that would be OK,” Sebastian replied with a shrug. “I can’t promise you I’ll be nice, though, since no one’s listening. I mean, why would I bother?”

Kurt sighed. “You win, OK? I miss you being nice to me. I’m sorry I was rude to you.”

Despite Sebastian’s penchant for holding grudges, that was all the apology he needed from Kurt. It seemed like spending the evening without Kurt had taken a toll on him, too. “I can’t really hold it against you, can I?” he asked with a sigh. “I’ve been rude to you since November.”

Kurt couldn’t disagree. “Still,” he said, “I’m sorry. It’s been a strange weekend.”

“Yeah,” Sebastian said, huffing out a laugh. He’s quiet for a moment before continuing. “I’m not acting, you know. I like your family. I like you.”

“I like you, too,” Kurt admitted. It was much easier to say than he had thought it would be, and he couldn’t stop his mind from filling with thoughts of how romantic it would be for a marriage of convenience to lead to true love. He was getting ahead of himself, probably, but it was a nice thought. “I’m glad it’s not acting,” he said, gathering his courage. “It just freaked me out before, when we were outside, because… I thought you were going to kiss me, and I wasn’t sure what was real and what wasn’t.”

“I haven’t done anything… not real,” Sebastian said. “I mean, maybe I sucked up to some of your relatives, but nothing with you has been an act.” He gave Kurt a small smile, then after a moment asked, “Do you, um, want to dance?”

“Yeah,” Kurt said, returning the smile. “I’d like that. It feels like I’ve danced with everyone but you.”

“I saw that,” Sebastian teased. “You’re a popular guy tonight.”

They headed over to the other dancing couples and stuck close together as they moved back and forth. The song was very slow, and they weren’t doing much besides clutching each other and swaying. Kurt thought they must look ridiculous, holding onto each other so tightly, like one of them had just returned from the war or something, but it wasn’t enough to make him want to let go. Sebastian had become Kurt’s rock during this trip, a constant source of comfort and reassurance who went out of his way to fix anything that had broken, and spending the evening unsure if their relationship would ever be the same was more difficult than Kurt had wanted to admit. 

They pulled away from each other a bit when the song ended, and Kurt looked up to find Sebastian’s face tinged rouge, his eyes soft and questioning Kurt ignored the flicker of doubt he had and decided that this time, his answer would be yes. He pushed up onto his toes and kissed Sebastian before he could talk himself out of it. Sebastian responded immediately, but the kiss only lasted for a moment before he turned his head a bit and let out a quiet laugh. 

“How much champagne have you had?” he asked Kurt, disbelief filling his eyes as he looked around the crowded tent.

“Just what I had when we did the toast. But I’m pretty sure you knew that already,” Kurt teased, his voice lower than usual, “because you have not taken your eyes off of me all night.” 

“Couldn’t help it,” Sebastian whispered. There was a predatory glint in his eyes as he pulled Kurt in for another kiss.


	12. Chapter 12

For the remainder of the reception, Kurt felt like he was floating. 

The kissing hadn’t continued for very long. After hearing a wolf whistle that turned out to be from Puck, Kurt remembered where he was. There were too many people around for him to feel comfortable. Also, no matter how supportive Blaine had seemed during his dance with Kurt, there was no reason to rub this in his face. 

“OK,” Kurt said after Puck’s disturbance made him pull away from Sebastian. “This probably isn’t the place for this.”

“Definitely not,” Sebastian agreed, but it didn’t stop him from leaning in for one more kiss. “Sorry,” he mumbled against Kurt’s lips. “Last one.”

They stayed close, though, mostly dancing with each other or moving from table to table to talk with Kurt’s friends and invite them to the impromptu engagement party at Burt and Carole’s house the next evening. Though Kurt had been too distracted by his own relationship drama to notice if any other issues had existed earlier in the reception, it seemed like everyone was having a good time. There was one incident that involved Kurt and Thom trying to convince a drunk Rachel that no, trying to organize a glee club performance in her state was not actually the best idea that she had ever had, but she was talked down after a few minutes, and there was no harm done. 

Kurt and Sebastian stayed to help clean up long after most of the guests, including Burt and Carole, had left. Finn and Kayla were gone, too, back to their apartment to finish packing for their honeymoon. It was nearly midnight when Kayla’s parents insisted that they go home.

“You boys have done enough for this wedding, trust me!” Marie said. “You’re on vacation. You should go enjoy it!”

Kurt and Sebastian didn’t need a lot of convincing. After saying goodbye to Kayla’s sisters, they headed back to their rental car. Neither of them had drank much at the reception. Kurt wasn’t sure of Sebastian’s reasoning, but Kurt had avoided alcohol to ensure that they wouldn’t be forced to stay overnight. Kayla’s parents had offered their spare bedrooms to anyone who had too much to drink, but Kurt wanted to make sure he and Sebastian got back to their own bedroom. He didn’t know exactly how intimate things were going to get, but Kurt could tell that things were headed in that general direction, and he did not want to be at his in-laws’ house when it happened. 

“So that went well,” Kurt said as he pulled out of the driveway. “No catastrophes.”

“It was a good night,” Sebastian replied. Kurt could hear the smile in his voice. 

“I noticed you and Rachel’s boyfriend really hit it off.”

“Thom?” Sebastian asked. “Yeah, he’s a good guy.”

“He is,” Kurt agreed. “I like him a lot.”

“He was telling me about his theater company. He, uh, offered me a job actually.”

“Oh, yeah?” Kurt asked.

“Yeah. They’re starting a play in the fall that takes place in Paris, and most of it is in French,” Sebastian explained. “He said they’d love to have a natural-born French speaker help the actors, and since I’m from Paris, I can help them with sets and stuff, too.”

“That’s great,” Kurt told him. “I mean… if that’s something you’re interested in?”

Sebastian laughed. “Well, it’s certainly better than working at a fashion magazine. I know you love that stuff, but it’s really not for me.”

“Yeah, that became clear pretty quickly,” Kurt teased.

“I think I’d like this, though.” Sebastian said. “I did theater in high school, and it was a lot of fun.” He paused for a moment. “Looks like I’ll have a little time before I’m doomed to the boring life of a househusband.”

Kurt laughed. “I guess!”

“They don’t need me just yet, though, so, um… I’ll still be free to work on planning our wedding.”

“Oh, I was just thinking about that earlier!” Kurt exclaimed. “I figured we could maybe work on it in the office for the next few weeks, since you don’t care much about how the next issue turns out.” 

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Sebastian said. “Do you have any ideas on what you want to do yet?”

“Not really.”

“Kurt,” Sebastian admonished, “don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not!” Kurt insisted, shooting Sebastian a quick glance before turning his eyes back to the road. “I haven’t had time to think about it much. It’s sort of been a busy weekend. I do know I don’t want it outside, though.”

“Yeah, I’m totally fine with that,” Sebastian said. “The rain was kind of a nightmare today.”

“And it could have been even worse,” Kurt pointed out. “I was trying to think of a color scheme,” he continued after a pause. “There are so many great choices, though. Do you have any colors you’d like to include?”

Sebastian was quiet for a moment. “Umm… I like red?”

“What kind of red?” 

“Maybe dark red. Like burgundy?”

“Oh, Sebastian, no,” Kurt said. “Burgundy is more of a fall wedding color. I could maybe work in a brighter red, if you wanted.”

Sebastian gave him an amused grin. “Maybe you should handle the color stuff,” he said. “I want to help pick the food, though.” 

Discussing the wedding kept them occupied for the rest of the short drive back to Burt and Carole’s house, and by the time they had arrived, Kurt was even giddier than before. Despite the day’s shaky start, Kurt was ending it in an amazing place. The wedding had gone well, he had worked things out with Blaine, and he had started planning his own wedding. Kurt was in heaven. It didn’t hurt that it now seemed even more likely that he would be getting laid for the first time in months.

“Looks like my parents are in bed already,” Kurt said as they entered the dark house. He tried to keep his voice even, but he still sounded excited. 

Sebastian smirked. “How sad that we missed them.” He grabbed Kurt by the wrist and tugged him toward the stairs. 

Kurt had barely shut the bedroom behind them when Sebastian pushed him up against it and leaned down for a kiss. It was much rougher than the kisses they had shared at the wedding, and when Sebastian finally pulled away to catch his breath, he didn’t go very far.

“Fuck,” he said, resting his forehead against Kurt’s. “I know it was your brother’s wedding and all, but you have no idea how badly I wanted to get out of there toward the end.” He pressed his lips against Kurt’s again, and Kurt almost didn’t care that the door knob was probably going to leave a bruise. It had been a long time since he had felt this desirable. 

“You should have said something,” Kurt replied when Sebastian had moved his lips to Kurt’s neck. “I probably could have been persuaded.”

Sebastian laughed into Kurt’s neck. “It was good that we stayed,” he said, turning his attention to undoing Kurt’s tie. “I know how to be patient.”

“Do you?” Kurt asked as Sebastian tossed Kurt’s tie to the floor and started working on the top buttons of his shirt. “You seem pretty impatient right now.”

“I do have my limits,” Sebastian admitted. Once he had gotten all of Kurt’s buttons undone, Sebastian took a step back to admire his view. “Fuck, you’re beautiful.”

It was Kurt that pulled him back in for a kiss then, but when he felt his body slam into the door knob again, he decided it was time to relocate. He separated his mouth from Sebastian’s, feeling a little thrill course through him when Sebastian chased after his lips a bit. “Can we move this over to the bed?” Kurt asked. “I’m having a bit of a door knob situation.”

Sebastian laughed. “Sorry about that,” he said, wrapping an arm around Kurt’s waist and pulling him forward a few steps. “I can kiss it better, if you want.” 

“Yeah, I bet you’d love that,” Kurt murmured. He pushed Sebastian back until he collided with the bed. Sebastian sat down, waiting as Kurt pulled off his own already unbuttoned shirt and tossed it onto the floor. “Your turn,” he said, climbing onto the bed and into Sebastian’s lap. Kurt’s excitement made it difficult to untie Sebastian’s tie. Though the feelings Kurt had for Sebastian were pretty new, the attraction had been there since the moment Kurt had met him at Lori’s farewell party seven months ago. The anticipation of getting to see what was hiding under Sebastian’s clothing overshadowed any traces of nervousness Kurt felt. He had never done anything like this with anyone but Blaine, but he felt comfortable enough with Sebastian to be fairly certain this wouldn’t end in embarrassment. They both wanted it. It was going to happen.

It only took a few minutes for the flaw in Kurt’s plan to be revealed. Sebastian was sprawled out on the bed, his shirt finally unbuttoned, underneath Kurt, who was straddling his thighs and had just finished leaning over to bite and suck every available inch of skin on Sebastian’s chest. Kurt had every intention of putting his mouth to use elsewhere, too, and he had started to undo Sebastian’s pants when he realized that he had forgotten a very important detail.

“Shit,” he said. “We can’t do… what I wanted to do. This is my parents’ house, I don’t have condoms here.” There was a chance he didn’t even have them at his apartment back home. In the last few years of their relationship, he and Blaine had rarely bothered to use protection. No matter how comfortable Kurt felt with Sebastian, though, there was no way they were going to do this without condoms. Sebastian let out a sigh of frustration. “I know, I’m sorry,” Kurt apologized, looking around the room for ideas. He wasn’t sure what he was hoping to find. They could make a quick run to the 24 hour drug store in town, but that would effectively kill the mood. There was a chance Finn still had some stashed away in his old bedroom, but thinking about that for too long would probably ruin things, too. 

“Oh, wait!” Sebastian said after a minute, pulling himself up. “I brought condoms. I forgot.”

“Oh, thank god,” Kurt said, giving Sebastian a gentle push back down onto the bed and then climbing off of him. “I’ll get them. They’re in your suitcase?”

“Yeah,” Sebastian said. “In that mesh pocket.”

Kurt rushed across the room to Sebastian’s suitcase and found a package of condoms and a bottle of lube. He couldn’t help but wonder if Sebastian had brought this stuff because he thought this might happen with Kurt, or if he had just hoped to pick someone up at Finn’s wedding. Assuming that train of thought wasn’t going to lead anywhere good, Kurt instead focused on the gorgeous man lying half naked on the bed in front of him. They were going to sleep together and have an engagement party and plan a wedding. Kurt couldn’t believe that just a few days ago, he had been regretting his decision and dreading everything about this trip.

“The next two years are going to be so much more fun than I thought,” Kurt said as he reclaimed his position on top of Sebastian. “And to think, I only wanted to get a career boost out of this. And now…” His eyes ran up and down Sebastian’s body, and he couldn’t help but lick his lips. Deciding not to continue his sentence, since it was veering dangerously close to sappy territory, he leaned down and gave Sebastian a kiss. Sebastian kissed back, but he was lacking the enthusiasm he had shown before, and Kurt felt a jolt of panic. _Was that too much?_ he thought. _Did I freak him out already by being too clingy?_ Kurt sat up again to do some damage control and get them back on track. He reached for the fly of Sebastian’s pants again, and when he had gotten them undone he tried to pull them down a bit, but Sebastian gave him no help. When Kurt looked up to ask Sebastian to lift his hips, Sebastian no longer looked excited at all.

“Kurt, do you think maybe we should… talk about this?” he asked, still breathing heavy.

“Talk about what?” Kurt asked, giving Sebastian’s pants another tug. “You know, this would be a lot easier if you helped me out a little.”

“Kurt, stop.” Sebastian’s voice was firm, and though Kurt understood what he was being told, it took a little while for his body to catch up with his brain. Sebastian batted Kurt’s hands away from his pants before Kurt was able to move.

“Sorry,” Kurt apologized, trying to catch his breath so he could ask for more clarification.. A minute ago, Sebastian had been telling him where to find the condoms, and now he wanted Kurt’s hands off of his pants. It didn’t make any sense. “What’s wrong? Did I do something…”

“No, no,” Sebastian assured him. “God, no.” He let out a breathy laugh. “This is… good.”

“OK… so…?”

“I just think it might be a good idea for us to… discuss this, before… it could get complicated, you know? If we’re both not on the same page? Our terms were a bit vague in this area, and-”

“Wait,” Kurt interrupted. “You think we need _terms_ for this?”

Sebastian maintained eye contact as he ran his arms up and down Kurt’s sides. “That’s not what I meant,” he soothed. “It’s just… the only time this was ever brought up at all, you were pretty opposed to the idea.”

Kurt tried to remember when they had discussed the topic of sex. It was when they were at the Empire State Building. He couldn’t believe it had only been four days ago. “Well, obviously I was opposed to it _then_ ,” Kurt snapped. “That was before…” he trailed off, unsure of how to finish his sentence. Sebastian was looking at him, so interested in what Kurt thought had changed. Sebastian’s doubt, the fact that he even had to bring this up for discussion, latched onto the niggling apprehension that Kurt had pushed to the back of his mind, nourishing it and letting it bloom into a full-fledged panic. _That was before..?_ Kurt’s mind replayed it over and over. Before _what_? Before the wedding became real? It still wasn’t real. Kurt and Sebastian were not dating. They hadn’t agreed to anything except those terms, which were clearly still pretty important to Sebastian, if he was bringing it up in a situation like this. The full weight of Kurt’s mistake hit him then. He had let himself get far too wrapped up in the role he was playing. Sebastian didn’t want to have a relationship with him, and Kurt didn’t actually want that, either, but thinking that he did had made him feel much better about the whole situation. Kurt had wanted so badly for his marriage to feel legitimate, and not just be to help advance his career. He couldn’t believe he had convinced himself he had feelings for Sebastian. There were times they could barely tolerate each other. How could Kurt think that Sebastian liked him? Sebastian had brought condoms with him on this trip, hoping to hook up with a stranger at Finn’s wedding. None of this screamed ‘great love story.’ Sebastian was still looking up at Kurt, looking nervous as he waited for him to finish his sentence, and Kurt knew that stopping had been the right thing to do.

“You’re right,” he said. “We shouldn’t.” 

Sebastian frowned. “I didn’t say-”

“Oh god,” Kurt groaned, climbing off of Sebastian and collapsing onto the bed next to him. “I can’t believe I let this happen. I can’t believe how desperate I’ve gotten.”

Sebastian turned to look at him. “Um. Ouch?”

“No, “ Kurt said with a sigh. “I don’t mean it like that. It’s not you. You’re very attractive. Which you know, and never fail to remind me of.” Sebastian huffed out a laugh as Kurt continued. “It’s just… how desperate must I be to go through all of this to get a feature on my designs into a magazine? I’m getting married, lying to my family, and… now, I’m lying to myself, too.” He paused to think about how honest he wanted to be with Sebastian. Kurt was pretty sure that their friendship had not been as much of a delusion as their romance, so he decided to tell Sebastian the whole embarrassing truth. “I think I… convinced myself that I had feelings for you,” Kurt said, looking up at the ceiling so he didn’t have to see Sebastian’s reaction. “But it was really just a lot of misplaced emotions. It’s like… I so desperately want to be this person… I have this ideal of who I want to be, and I think that I was trying to legitimize marrying you by telling myself that it was because we loved each other. Which is completely ridiculous. I just… I really want to be that person, who gets married because they’re in love and can’t picture living without the other person. I thought I _could_ be that person, but what I am is just… a guy who enters into a marriage of convenience to help out his career.” Kurt paused to focus his attention on keeping his tears from falling, but he knew it was probably a lost cause. “I’m sorry,” he told Sebastian after a minute, finally meeting his eyes again.

Sebastian was frowning. “You’re being ridiculous, you know,” he said. “You’re not… that’s not who you are.”

“It is,” Kurt insisted. “Just because I have trouble accepting it doesn’t mean it’s not the truth. That’s who I am. It’s how I lost Blaine.” The tears had started falling, and Kurt was starting to sound hysterical. “I picked my career over him. Anyone else, after six years, would have moved with their boyfriend. But staying in New York was so important to me, and-”

“Wait,” Sebastian interrupted, pushing himself up on one elbow. “I thought he didn’t want you to move with him?”

“Of course he didn’t want me to move with him! Why would he? I spent months pushing him away. All I cared about was work!”

Sebastian shook his head. “I can’t believe you’re still beating yourself up over not being able to make it work with the first guy you ever dated.”

Kurt sniffled. “You’re supposed to sacrifice things for the people you love,” he said. 

“Not everything,” Sebastian replied. “You can’t give up everything to make someone else happy. It won’t make them happy for very long, when you’re miserable.”

“That’s just the thing,” Kurt argued. “Being with the person you love isn’t supposed to make you miserable!”

“You’re right. Which means you weren’t with the right person, because no one should have to give up the things that are important to them just so they can stay in a relationship with somebody.” Sebastian sighed. “Everyone deserves to have someone who has dreams that are at least somewhat compatible, you know? You can’t feel guilty for going after the things you want, Kurt.” When Kurt didn’t say anything, Sebastian continued. “And don’t say you never sacrifice things for people you love, because you do,” he pointed out. “Fuck, you sacrifice things for people you can barely tolerate! You’re marrying me so I can stay in the country, remember?”

“I’m marrying you for _me_ ,” Kurt insisted, relieved to finally find something he could argue with. “I’m lying to everyone to get what I want. How _noble_ of me.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Tell yourself that all you want, but I know you’re also doing it to help me. It’s not a bad thing to want to help someone.”

“You can defend any horrible behavior, can’t you?” Kurt asked. “Is that how you live with yourself, after all the awful things you’ve done?” He immediately regretted the harsh words. It wasn’t even Sebastian that Kurt was upset with, it was himself, and Kurt hated that Sebastian looked hurt by his comment. “God, I’m sorry,” Kurt said. “I didn’t mean…” He sighed. “I just sort of have emotional whiplash from everything that’s happened today, and I’m taking it out on you. Seriously, I’m sorry.”

“It’s OK,” Sebastian replied, moving his gaze to the ceiling. “I guess you’re not the only one who’s desperate,” he said after a minute. “Look at what I’m doing just to stay in New York.”

Kurt flashed back to the day Sebastian had brought up the marriage plan for the first time. _“You’re more like me than you think.”_ Kurt hadn’t wanted to believe it at the time, but Sebastian had been right. “Well,” Kurt began with a sigh, “I guess it’s a good thing we found each other, then. The two most desperate people in the world. At least we can help each other out.”

“Yeah,” Sebastian murmured. 

“We probably shouldn’t… um… do any more of this,” Kurt said, gesturing at the condoms. “It could complicate things.”

“Right,” Sebastian said. He was looking down at the bedspread, tracing a seam with his finger. “Yeah, that was… not a great idea.” Kurt had the urge to lean over and kiss all of the sadness off of Sebastian’s face, but he stopped himself. It was only a few minutes ago that he had convinced himself that he didn’t actually feel anything romantic for Sebastian. Had he been wrong? Kurt’s own thoughts were exhausting him.

The two of them got ready for bed in silence after that, and it wasn’t long before the lights were out and they were under the covers. Kurt couldn’t sleep. He laid in bed, using the dull glow of the streetlights to stare at the engagement ring he had placed on the nightstand, as he tried to piece together the events of the evening into something that made sense. It wasn’t an easy task. Kurt needed time, that much he knew. They had made the right choice. They were not in a good place to be sleeping together right now, but maybe his feelings had been real. Maybe Sebastian’s feelings had been real, too. Maybe Kurt had misinterpreted everything. 

“Hey, Sebastian?” Kurt whispered into the darkness. “Are you still awake?” He wanted to apologize for invalidating his own feelings. He wanted to ask Sebastian how he really felt. He wanted some kind of sign that all of the wonderful things that had happened this evening had some meaning. There was no reply from Sebastian, though, so Kurt assumed he must have fallen asleep already. Settling himself on his side so he could go to sleep, too, Kurt sighed.

_It’s not the end of the world_ , he thought as he pulled the sheet up over his shoulder. They could talk tomorrow, or the next day, or even later. They had two years to sort things out, after all. The thought relaxed him enough that he was able to eventually drift off to sleep. 

-

The next morning, Kurt woke up alone for the first time since he had gotten home. 

It felt strange at first, to be waking up without a warm body next to him, but Kurt quickly dismissed the flash of panic he felt. Bright sunlight leaked through the curtains into his bedroom, telling him it wasn’t that early. Sebastian was probably up already, in the bathroom, maybe, or downstairs with Kurt’s parents. 

The panic started up again a moment later, though, when Kurt sat up in bed and blindly reached for his ring on the nightstand. His hand brushed up against a spiral notebook instead, and when he turned to look, the ring was nowhere in sight. Kurt picked up the open notebook, tried to blink some of the sleep from his eyes, looked at the writing on the page it had been left open on. He immediately recognized the messy handwriting as Sebastian’s. It seemed like the note had been written in a rush. Sebastian hadn’t bothered to keep within the lines, and his writing started off big but started getting smaller toward the end of the page as he tried to cram everything in. Kurt skimmed the note quickly, his eyes getting stuck on phrases like “heading back to New York” and “terrible idea” and “figure out another way.” Kurt glanced around the room, hoping to find a sign that maybe he had misunderstood the note, but none of Sebastian’s clothes were lying around anymore, and his luggage was gone. The ring was nowhere to be found, either, even after Kurt spent several minutes searching. Realizing that Sebastian was gone and had taken the ring with him felt like a punch in the gut. That ring had belonged to Kurt. Sebastian had given it to him seven months ago and said he could keep it, and now it had been taken back with no warning. Kurt felt like he had been dumped.

He blinked back the furious tears that had been threatening to fall and took a moment to collect himself. After a few calming breaths, he turned his attention back to the notebook to give the note a more careful reading.

_Kurt,_

_I’m heading back to New York this morning. Sorry for the short notice, but I just realized this wedding thing is a really terrible idea. You were right. It’s dangerous, and if I get caught trying to scam my way in, they might not ever let me get a legit visa again. I can’t risk that. I want to get back to the city as soon as possible so I can try and figure out another way to work this out. And don’t worry, your plane ticket back on Tuesday is still in first class. And since I won’t be there, you’ll have two seats to yourself._

_-Sebastian_

It didn’t make any sense. Sebastian had been so dismissive of Kurt’s fears, but all of a sudden, he didn’t want to risk getting caught? Kurt didn’t understand how Sebastian could have left like that, without even telling Kurt that he was going, and that their engagement was off. He left no apology for Kurt’s family, or any ideas on how to explain this new development to them. The tone of the note was so casual, too, like Sebastian wasn’t making a life altering decision for the both of them and then sneaking off in the middle of the night. 

Kurt left three increasingly angry voicemails for Sebastian, demanding that he call back as soon as possible, before heading downstairs to get a cup of coffee. He found his father seated at the kitchen table, eating breakfast. Kurt sent the text message he had been composing, which was just another variation of what he’d said in his voicemails, off to Sebastian, and braced himself for the questions he was going to have to answer.

“Hey, Kurt,” Burt greeted. “Where’s Sebastian? Still asleep?”

Kurt cleared his throat, but remained in the doorway. “He, uh… he had to leave.”

“Leave?” Burt asked, furrowing his brow. “To go where?”

“Back to New York,” Kurt replied. 

“Why, he’s got work to do or something? I thought he was staying until Tuesday.”

Kurt was tempted to go along with this explanation. It was a good excuse. He could just say that Sebastian had an emergency work thing to take care of, and then tell his family about the broken engagement in a few weeks over the phone. No one would have to know about the deception, and Kurt wouldn’t have to deal with the painful conversation now. He could deal with all of the _I told you so_ s, probably. That would be less embarrassing than everyone knowing the truth. 

Kurt was sick of lying, though.

“It’s not work,” he said. “Sebastian, um… we’re not…”

Burt gave Kurt a minute to finish before saying anything. “Did you guys have a fight?”

“Not exactly. But…”

Burt sighed. “Why don’t you come in and sit down?” Kurt obliged, but not before grabbing a mug and filling it with coffee. “Did you guys break up?” Burt asked once Kurt had taken the seat next to him at the table. He sounded concerned.

“No,” Kurt replied. “We didn’t break up.” He took a deep breath. “We were just… never actually together. I lied about the engagement thing, Dad. I’m sorry.”

Burt raised an eyebrow. “Why would you lie about that? Was I right? Was it about making Blaine jealous?”

“No,” Kurt said. “Not at all.”

When Kurt didn’t elaborate, Burt asked, “Are you going to tell me why, then, or is this a guessing game?” 

Kurt looked down at the table. “Sebastian’s work visa is expiring,” he mumbled. “We were going to get married so he could get a green card.”

“Jesus,” Burt said. He let out a sigh and didn’t say anything for a moment. “Why didn’t you just tell us that?”

“We didn’t want you to have to lie to the immigration people, if they asked,” Kurt explained. “And I also just… didn’t want to tell you because I knew you’d be disappointed.”

“I’m not…” Burt started, then changed his mind. “OK, I am, a little. I don’t think it’s a good idea, but you were just trying to help out a friend. It’s not like you did something terrible, Kurt.”

“I didn’t do it for him, though,” Kurt said, unable to hold back his tears any longer. “I did it for me. He was going to run a feature on my designs in his last issue of the magazine.”

“Wait, he _bribed_ you?” Burt demanded. “Your boss offered you a deal to marry him so he could stay in the country? Kurt, that’s not…”

“No, he… well, sort of, but it was my decision, Dad,” Kurt insisted. “Sebastian is leaving, anyway, he has no real pull over me as a boss anymore. I could have easily reported him to someone if I felt forced. I did it because I wanted to. I knew the feature would help get my designs out there and get me closer to launching a line, and he was going to give me a place to live, so I didn’t have to find one for next month.”

“Oh, Kurt,” Burt said. Kurt hated that tone. It was filled with pity and disappointment.

“I know,” he said. “It’s awful.”

“Did you really think this was the only option?”

Kurt was crying in earnest now. “Everything is a mess right now, you know? I lost Blaine, I’m losing my apartment, and once Sebastian is gone I might not even have a job. My life is falling apart,” he sobbed. “I just wanted _something_ good to happen.”

Burt leaned forward and pulled Kurt into a hug, then continued patting Kurt’s back for a few minutes until his tears had mostly subsided. 

“Sorry,” Kurt said with a sniffle when he finally pulled back. 

“Don’t apologize,” Burt replied. “I didn’t know you were having such a rough time.” He got out of his chair and walked over to the counter to retrieve the box of tissues.

“It’s not really all that fun to discuss,” Kurt explained as he took the tissues from his father. 

“Yeah, I get that, but I don’t think it’s good for you to keep all this from people.” He paused before continuing. “Can I ask what exactly happened with Sebastian? Did you change your mind about marrying him?

“No,” Kurt replied, feeling the tears starting to prick at his eyes again. “It was his choice. He decided he didn’t want to go through with it.”

“It’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Burt asked. “It doesn’t seem like you were too fond of the idea. You were just acting like you did a terrible thing by agreeing to do it.”

“I just… really wanted _something_ to work out, you know? And he just… left, in the middle of the night, without even telling me. He left a note saying he was going to figure out another way, that’s all.”

Burt sat back down next to Kurt. “You like this guy?”

“I don’t know,” Kurt replied.

“You guys seemed pretty close last night,” Burt pointed out. “Not acting, I assume?”

“It wasn’t,” Kurt admitted. “But…”

“But nothing,” Burt insisted. “You care about him. Maybe he left because you’re so uncomfortable with the idea of getting married.”

Kurt thought about the talk he and Sebastian had last night, in which he had spent a good deal of time talking about how disgusted he was with himself for deciding to go through with the marriage. His dad’s idea would make sense if Sebastian had actually stopped to discuss it with Kurt before leaving.

“I don’t think that’s it,” Kurt told his father. “If that was the reason, he would have just told me. He must have snuck out in the middle of the night because he thought his explanation would make me mad.”

Burt looked unsure. “I don’t know, kid. You weren’t the only one who looked happy last night, you know.”

Kurt shook his head. “We’re not… together or anything. I think the pretending just got to us.”

“I think it’s something you should pursue,” Burt said, shrugging. “I mean, if he finds another way to stay in the country, anyway. If he’s around, and you’re not trying to scam the government together,” he stopped to give Kurt a pointed glare, and Kurt let out a quiet laugh, “then I don’t see why you shouldn’t try. After you leave, of course. You’re still flying back on Tuesday, right? I never get to see you anymore, and I don’t want to give you up before I have to.”

The idea of pursuing any sort of relationship with Sebastian seemed ridiculous to Kurt now, but he didn’t want to keep refusing and upset his dad. He was happy for the opportunity to change the subject. He gave his dad a small smile. “Yeah, of course I’m still here until Tuesday.”

Burt grinned like it was the greatest news he had ever heard, and it made Kurt’s chest hurt. He had to stop being so selfish and make more time for visiting his family. Maybe it would be easier now that Sebastian wouldn’t be his boss anymore. 

“Good,” Burt said. “Are you, uh… still gonna get together with friends today? I know it won’t be an engagement party anymore, but…”

Kurt groaned. “Oh god, I forgot about that. I guess I have to let everyone know that’s not happening.” 

“You could still hang out with everyone, though,” Burt said. “You should. You hardly ever get to see some of them.”

“Maybe I will,” Kurt lied. The idea of telling all of his friends the truth about his engagement was terrifying. He hadn’t wanted to lie to his family anymore, but maybe some of his friends would still get the easier ‘we broke up’ excuse in a few weeks. He did at least want to spend some more time with Mercedes, so he hoped he could think of an excuse for why Sebastian wasn’t around that she would believe. “That won’t be until later, though. So you guys have got me for the day. Is Carole around?”

“She went back to Kayla’s house to help clean up a little a bit and get her dishes,” Burt said. “But she shouldn’t be gone too much longer.”

“OK. I’m going to talk to everyone, and then take a shower. I’ll be ready for whatever after that.” Kurt got out of his seat and started walking away, but Burt stood up and cleared his throat before Kurt had exited the room.

“Hey,” Burt said, “Come here for a second.” Kurt turned around, confused, and walked back over to where his dad was standing. As soon as he got close enough, Burt pulled him into another hug. “You’re OK?”

“I’m going to be fine,” Kurt replied, blinking back more tears. 

-

Kurt spent the rest of the day trying to convince himself to stop thinking about Sebastian. It didn’t work. Kurt’s voicemails and texts were never answered, even though he knew the amount of time Sebastian would have had to have his phone off for the plane ride was only a few hours at most. Kurt couldn’t help but send more texts whenever Burt and Carole weren’t looking, and leave another voicemail when he was in the bathroom. He couldn’t understand why Sebastian was ignoring him. The note hadn’t seemed angry. They hadn’t really had a fight the night before, either. Maybe Sebastian hadn’t actually forgiven Kurt for asking about how he justified the horrible things he did. It _had_ been rude and uncalled for, and Kurt had apologized right away, but he couldn’t think of anything else that would have made Sebastian angry. 

But maybe Sebastian wasn’t angry. Maybe that wasn’t the problem. Maybe Kurt had given Sebastian too much credit by thinking he was more than the manipulative, selfish jerk that everyone else at the office thought he was. Maybe his note should be taken at face value. There was a chance that Sebastian had actually just taken time to think about the legal repercussions, and had left without considering Kurt’s feelings. If Sebastian had decided not to go through with the marriage, there really would have been no reason for him to stick around in Ohio. He didn’t have to endear himself to Kurt or Kurt’s family if they weren’t going to pretend anymore.

It would really, really help if he could just talk to Sebastian. Kurt had told his father that he was going to stay until Tuesday, but as the day progressed, he started wondering if there might be a flight to New York that he could still catch that night. He thought better of that idea once he realized that he wouldn’t be able to talk to Sebastian once he got home, either, because he didn’t even know where Sebastian lived. They had visited the apartment that Kurt was going to live in, but never Sebastian’s actual home. The realization made Kurt feel even more ridiculous. He was upset over someone he barely knew. 

Though Kurt had sent out a mass text to everyone who had said they were available that evening for the engagement get-together to say it wasn’t happening because Sebastian had to leave, Mercedes said she still wanted to hang out. She had been persistent in trying to find out what had happened, and by the end of their hourlong text conversation, she had a pretty good idea of the whole story. She and Sam came over that night, but they didn’t talk about Kurt’s lies. They didn’t talk about Sebastian at all, they just sat together on the couch and watched movies while Mercedes snuggled against him. Sometimes, Kurt wondered how he deserved to have such wonderful people in his life.

The next few days at home could not pass quickly enough. After Sebastian still had not replied to any texts or voicemails by Sunday night, Kurt had sent him a quick email, deciding there was a slight chance that Sebastian had misplaced his cell phone, or the battery had died. His email had been more friendly than the phone messages, just asking if everything was OK, if he had gotten home safely, and to please give him a call when he had the chance.

By the time Kurt’s plane took off on Tuesday, he had not gotten any phone calls, texts, or emails from Sebastian.

-

Kurt had not expected Rachel to meet him at the airport. It was a nice surprise, though, after a flight that felt way longer than it should have. First class just hadn’t been as exciting when he was alone. 

“Kurt!” she cried, rushing over to him as he waited for his bags at the carousel. “Hi!”

“Hi, Rachel,” he said, accepting her enthusiastic hug. “What are you doing here?”

She rolled her eyes. “I came here to meet you, obviously!”

“You took a cab all the way here just to meet me!”

“Of course!” she trilled. “I thought you might want company on your ride home, since Sebastian isn’t with you anymore.”

Kurt stiffened. “Oh. Right.”

“And,” she continued brightly, “now we have a whole cab ride for you to explain to me what exactly happened!”

It didn’t take long for Rachel to convince him to tell her the whole story. She, like everyone else, had just gotten his mass text about Sebastian having to return to New York unexpectedly for work, but she had known it was probably a lie. She had sent a text message once she got back to New York on Sunday night asking for more details that Kurt had ignored, and she hadn’t tried to contact him again since. Kurt supposed he had been naive to think that she wouldn’t press him for more information. 

Once she had heard all of the details of what happened Saturday night, she shook her head in disbelief. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I know,” Kurt said. “And he hasn’t contacted me at all. I texted him and left voicemails and emailed him and… nothing.”

“What a jerk!” she exclaimed. 

“He is,” Kurt agreed. “I thought he might actually like me,” he admitted. “I know it’s stupid, but-”

“It’s not stupid,” Rachel insisted. “I thought he did, too. I mean, the way he acted at the reception? He was all over you!”

Kurt had spent the past few days trying to forget how wonderful he had felt at the reception, but Rachel’s comment made it all come crashing back. Sebastian’s soft smile and gentle eyes, the way he had told Kurt he was beautiful. _I will not cry in this cab_ , he thought to himself. 

“I’ve been trying to convince myself I didn’t have feelings for him,” Kurt told Rachel after he took a steadying breath. “But… I don’t think I’d feel this awful if I didn’t, you know?”

Rachel looked distraught. “Oh, baby, I’m so sorry,” she said, leaning over to wrap her arms around him. “He doesn’t deserve you,” she continued as they separated. “He shouldn’t be ignoring you like this. I can beat him up for you if you want. Or have Thom do it!”

That startled a laugh out of Kurt. “Thank you for the offer, but I don’t think that will be necessary. I’m going to see him tomorrow at work, so… I guess we’ll have some time to talk.”

“I think if you punched him, your coworkers would understand.”

“They’ve all wanted to punch him for months, I think,” Kurt replied. 

“So you’d be doing everyone a favor!” Rachel said with a grin. “I think you should go for it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Kurt replied. Part of him couldn’t wait to see Sebastian face to face tomorrow, yell at him for the emotional turmoil he had caused, and demand an explanation, but another part of him was really starting to dread the reunion. “Anyway,” he said, ready to change the topic, “I’m sick of talking about myself. Let’s talk about you! How was your weekend? I know I was sort of wrapped up in my own stuff, but… are you OK? Was it hard to watch Finn get married?”

“Surprisingly, no,” she replied without hesitation. “It was nice. I was happy to be there, and with Thom…” She let out a contented sigh. “I had a really great time.”

“That’s great, Rachel,” Kurt said, trying not to hate her too much for being so happy with her boyfriend. She deserved it, after all, and just because Kurt’s love life was a complete mess, he shouldn’t begrudge Rachel her happiness.

“Things are going to be great for you, too,” she said, sensing his discomfort. “I know they are.”

“Yeah,” Kurt said. “Sure.”

“Seriously, Kurt,” Rachel insisted, reaching across the seat to squeeze his hand. “You’re going to see Sebastian tomorrow and give him a piece of your mind, and then this whole thing will be over, and you can forget about about this whole marriage thing and move on.”

Kurt managed to give her a weak smile before turning his attention to the buildings and streetlights passing by the cab’s window. He really, really hoped that Rachel was right.


	13. Chapter 13

As it turned out, Kurt’s apprehension about seeing Sebastian at work the next morning was unnecessary. 

When Kurt arrived at Sebastian’s office, after spending his whole commute psyching himself up to yell at his ex-fiancé immediately upon seeing him, the office was empty. Sebastian wasn’t there, and neither were any of his things. The office looked the same way it had the day that Tia had been fired. 

Before Kurt had time to let the information sink in, he heard a throat clear behind him.

“Kurt Hummel?” asked a man with a heavy French accent. 

“Yes?” Kurt asked, turning around. He immediately recognized Sebastian’s uncle. “Oh… hello.”

“We met,” Charles Smythe said. “You remember?”

“Of course,” Kurt said. “At the gala last winter.”

“Yes, the gala. And how have you been since the gala, Mr. Hummel?”

“Um…. good, thank you.” Kurt replied. “And yourself?”

“Fine, fine,” said Charles, stepping in the office.

“So….” Kurt began after a moment. He wanted to ask why Mr. Smythe was there, or, more importantly, why Sebastian _wasn’t_ , but he didn’t know how to phrase the question. As far as he knew, Charles still thought he and Sebastian were engaged, and if that were true, wouldn’t Kurt know where his fiancé was? “Uh, you’re not usually at the office.”

“No,” Charles agreed. “Not usually. I’m here to speak with you, actually.” He shut the office door behind him. “Why don’t you have a seat?”

Out of habit, Kurt took the chair on the outside of the desk, letting Charles walk over to Sebastian’s seat. 

“Is there something wrong?” Kurt asked once they were settled.

Charles huffed out a laugh. “I think you know already that something is wrong,” he said, locking his gaze on Kurt’s. 

“I’m not sure I know what you’re referring to,” Kurt said, shifting uncomfortably. 

Charles sighed. “My nephew has resigned from his position here.”

“I thought he was fired?” Kurt asked with a frown.

“Fired… no. He failed to meet the goals we agreed upon, so he was to leave at the end of the month. However, he gave me his letter of resignation on Monday and informed me he would not be finishing out the rest of the month.”

“Oh,” Kurt said, dumbfounded. That explained the empty office. “I… I knew that, of course. I just wasn’t sure if…”

Charles chuckled. “You did not know that,” he said, “but that’s fine. I understand. Sebastian and I spoke. He confessed that you two are not actually engaged. I know he asked you to lie for him.”

Kurt was surprised that Sebastian had told his uncle any of this. “Well, um… it was a mutual decision, he didn’t-”

Charles cut him off. “He asked you to marry him so he could get a green card, yes?”

“That was part of it,” Kurt admitted. “But-”

“This is not something we condone here,” Charles told him. “It’s deplorable behavior. Having the management take advantage of their assistants… it not acceptable at all. I want you to know that. I am deeply sorry for my nephew’s transgression, and any emotional turmoil it has caused you.”

“Um…” Kurt began, at a loss for words. He had not been expecting an apology at all. “I wasn’t really coerced into it at all,” he finally said. Though he was angry with Sebastian, he wanted to make sure everyone understood that he had made the decision on his own.

“When a superior asks an assistant to do something, by the very nature of the relationship, it is coercion,” Charles explained. His tone was always patronizing, but it seemed to have reached new levels of condescension. “He should have never asked you. It was inappropriate.”

Kurt didn’t know how to argue with that. “We’re friends,” he tried, though with Sebastian’s behavior the past few days, Kurt was beginning to think maybe that was never true. “I did it as a friend, not as his assistant.”

“That makes it worse, then, doesn’t it?” asked Charles, raising one of his bushy eyebrows. “That he would ask this of a friend?”

“Well, he didn’t really have any other option, did he?” Kurt challenged. He was trying to ignore the fact that he was being oppositional to the man who owned the company he worked for. Though he and Sebastian hadn’t discussed Charles much since the gala in December, Kurt had witnessed the man’s rudeness himself and hadn’t forgotten how uncomfortable Sebastian had been. Kurt couldn’t help but defend Sebastian. “ _You_ weren’t going to help him.”

Charles’s expression didn’t change. “So, Mr. Hummel, you think Sebastian deserved to keep his job here?”

“He wasn’t a very good editor, no,” Kurt admitted. “But his work visa was expiring, and you’re very rich and well-known and you own multiple magazines, so you could have helped him _somehow_.” 

“I could have,” Charles agreed. “Unfortunately, I was unaware that Sebastian’s work visa was expiring until a few days ago. It’s true,” he said in response to Kurt’s surprised expression. “He never mentioned it until he resigned. I know he’s probably convinced you that I’m a terrible person, but I will tell you this - as soon as I found out his predicament, I immediately offered him a position in Los Angeles. An easier job, one he was less likely to mess up.”

Kurt’s heart sank. He knew Sebastian didn’t want to live in California. Kurt didn’t really want Sebastian living in California, either.

“He didn’t take it, of course,” Charles continued. “He’s stubborn, just like his father.”

Kurt took a moment to be thankful that he had escaped the misfortune of marrying into this unpleasant man’s family. “Is there a way I can reach Sebastian?” he asked, trying to move the conversation away from Sebastian’s shortcomings. “He hasn’t been picking up his phone, I didn’t know if he had left the country, or…”

“He hasn’t,” Charles said. “Not yet. If he’s not answering your calls, he’s probably ashamed and embarrassed by what he’s done. As he should be! He’s always trying to take the easy way out. He had plenty of time to take care of his visa, but he decided it would be easier to just find some fool to marry him.”

“OK, OK,” Kurt said, ignoring the insult. He just wanted to make Charles stop talking. “I was just wondering, sorry.”

“Don’t pity him, Mr. Hummel. Sebastian is going to be fine. He’s going home to Mommy and Daddy’s mansion.”

Despite his current anger toward Sebastian, Kurt hated to hear him dismissed like this. “He tried, you know,” Kurt told Charles. “He worked really long hours and did everything he could to try and keep this job. It can’t have been easy to make time to explore other opportunities to help him renew his visa.” Kurt pressed on, remembering what Sebastian had told him at the gala. “And why would you even give him this job in the first place? You knew he wasn’t going to be any good at it. He has a business degree and knows nothing about journalism _or_ fashion. He only took the job to prove you wrong.”

“I wasn’t attempting to make him look bad,” Charles said. He didn’t seem troubled by Kurt’s accusations. “I was trying to help him. He was looking for a job.”

“If you wanted to help him, you would have given him a job he could actually do,” Kurt argued.

“I suppose. Unfortunately, I cannot offer him another job here,” Charles said, shrugging. “The employees don’t respect him. He ran the magazine into the ground.”

Kurt frowned. “While you watched and did nothing to help him.” He still couldn’t believe he was talking to the owner of the magazine this way. It probably didn’t matter much. He doubted he would have a job there for much longer, anyway, with Sebastian gone. 

“As I said, I was unaware that his visa depended on it,” Charles said. “All I can give him right now is the job in L.A., but he’s only interested in New York. Especially now.” He gave Kurt an appraising look. “I think I’m starting to understand why.”

“He wants to live in New York, that’s why,” Kurt said, feeling uncomfortable under Charles’s scrutiny. 

“Yes, that much is true.” Charles pulled a stack of papers from the top drawer of the desk and placed them on the desk. “Anyway, what is done is done. Sebastian has resigned, and now we must talk about you.”

“Me?” Kurt echoed.

“Yes. Regrettably, we have no place to transfer you to now that Sebastian is gone. Our new editor will be doing her own interviews for an assistant, and no one else in the office is in need of an assistant.”

“Right,” Kurt said, trying not to look too upset. He had known this was coming. “So I’m being fired?”

“Not fired,” Charles assured him. “Let go. You’re being offered a fairly lucrative severance package.” He passed one of the papers over to Kurt. 

“Isn’t Janet usually the one who does stuff like this?” Kurt asked, remembering the last time he had been told he lost his job. “Why was this so important that you had to come all the way down here?”

“I came here to apologize on behalf of the company for Sebastian’s behavior,” Charles replied.

“Oh,” Kurt said, distracted as he skimmed the severance package details. “I guess that’s…” He trailed off when he saw the amount of money he would be receiving. “Um, this is more than a year of salary for me.”

“Is it?” Charles asked. “Well, we want to make sure your experience here did not color your view of the magazine.”

Kurt was starting to understand. “This is a bribe, then?”

Charles smiled. “Of course not. But one would hope that after receiving such a generous severance package, there would be no reason to discredit the magazine or my family by talking to the media about what my nephew did to you. It would be bad press, you see.”

“Right,” Kurt agreed. He knew the right thing to do would be to refuse the severance package and walk out, but he was pretty amused that he was being asked to cover up a supposed bribe with another bribe, this time from someone even higher up. The money would be pretty great, too. He hadn’t planned on discussing any of this with anyone outside of his friends or family, anyway. 

“I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t accept,” Charles said. “My nephew tells me you’re interested in starting your own clothing line. Perhaps this money would help you with start-up costs.”

Kurt was pretty sure this money would mostly go to paying the astronomical rent he would have if he ever managed to find an apartment at all, but he was surprised that Sebastian had mentioned his plans to Charles. It gave Kurt a glimmer of hope that maybe Sebastian cared about him a little bit after all.

“You’ve convinced me,” Kurt said, suddenly very desperate to get out of the office as soon as possible. “Where do I sign?”

-

After packing up his belongings and sharing brief farewells with the few people at the office who didn’t hate him for working so closely with Sebastian, Kurt headed outside and immediately called Sebastian again. When he heard the familiar voicemail greeting, he wanted to scream.

“Sebastian, can you _please_ call me?” Kurt pleaded into the phone. “I was expecting to see you today, but then I had to hear from your uncle that you resigned, and that I was being let go… I just want to talk to you before you leave, OK? Please call me back.” Kurt stopped to take a steadying breath. He felt like he might start crying at any moment. “I just… really need to talk to you,” he repeated.

-

Sebastian didn’t call back that day. He didn’t call back the next day, or on Friday, and by the weekend, Kurt tried to let go of his hope that it would ever happen. If Sebastian had cared about him, he would have called by now. Kurt allowed himself to give in to his misery and spent a good portion of Saturday crying and eating junk food, trying not to think about how much this reminded him of the aftermath of his break-up with Blaine. It made no sense that he was reacting to this like a break-up, because it hadn’t been a relationship. Sebastian had been his boss, and sort of a friend, sometimes, but the possibility of more had only existed for a few days. Kurt knew it was pathetic that the loss of this potential had left him so devastated, but he couldn’t avoid the truth anymore. It was obvious that he _did_ really have some feelings for Sebastian. Kurt hadn’t realized the depth and intensity of them when he confessed to Rachel earlier that week. The thought of never seeing Sebastian again left him almost inconsolable. 

Kurt allowed his imagination to run free that night, trying to picture what a relationship with Sebastian would have been like. Kurt pushed past the fantasies he’d had the week before, which mostly consisted of planning their wedding together or fooling around, and tried to get to something more real. He pictured Sebastian looking into his eyes the way he had when they danced at the wedding and running his hands up and down Kurt’s sides to soothe him, like he had when they were in bed. He pictured them walking down the street, on a date, maybe, holding hands and rolling eyes and hurling fond insults. He pictured Sebastian curled up next to him in bed, smirking at him across a kitchen, pulling him in closer for a hug. Kurt was sitting alone on the couch in his empty apartment, but he could almost feel Sebastian’s warmth as he imagined the possibilities. 

Kurt picked up his phone and called Sebastian, promising himself that if Sebastian didn’t answer, it would be the last time he called. He imagined Sebastian sitting on his own couch in Manhattan, staring at Kurt’s name on his phone, deciding that now was the time to finally answer his call.

The phone rang and rang, and Kurt hung up once he heard the voicemail message. He didn’t know what else he could say.

-

Weeks passed, and Kurt managed to keep his promise. He deleted Sebastian’s number from his phone to avoid the temptation of calling again, though it didn’t stop him from hoping for a call from an unknown number. Kurt couldn’t dwell on the past too much, though. His lease was going to end very soon, and he needed to find a job and an apartment as soon as possible. By the time June turned into July, Kurt had managed to find himself a studio apartment that he could afford on his own for a while with his severance pay, even if he didn’t find a job immediately. He’d still be in Brooklyn, and he couldn’t move in until almost two weeks after he had to leave his current apartment, but Kurt knew it was probably the best he could do. Rachel and Thom had assured him that he could stay with them in the interim, and they also had space to store his things. 

With his housing crisis taken care of, Kurt felt a bit lighter. He still carried the weight of shame and disappointment from the botched engagement with Sebastian, and the seemingly endless job search was draining, too, but Kurt at least knew he wasn’t going to be homeless. He had a place to move to, time to work on his designs, a severance check to pay his bills until he found a job, and the Sebastian thing was less painful as time passed. Kurt had already accepted that he wasn’t going to hear from Sebastian, and probably wouldn’t ever see him again, so when his phone rang one afternoon and the display showed the call was from an unknown number, Kurt tried not to get his hopes up.

He had been fixing himself lunch when it happened, and he took his time putting down his knife and wiping his hands before answering the call. “Hello?” 

“I’m looking for Kurt Hummel.” It was the cheerful, unfamiliar voice of a female, and Kurt tried not to sound too disappointed when he replied.

“You’ve found him. How can I help you?”

“Mr. Hummel, my name is Karen Diaz, and I’m calling on behalf of Genevieve Desmarais. She’d like to set up a meeting with you.”

“Um… OK,” Kurt said, starting to pace around the apartment. Neither of the names were familiar to him, but it was possible the phone call was about one of the jobs he had applied to. “And what is this in reference to?”

“Ms. Desmarais is the editor of _La Chance_ magazine, and she wants to speak with you about your designs,” Karen chirped.

“My designs,” Kurt echoed, feeling faint. Luckily, he had paced into the living room and was close enough to lower himself onto the couch. “She’s… seen them?”

“Well, yes,” said Karen, sounding confused. “She’s interested in doing a feature on indie designers. I know your article was supposed to come out this month, but we had a change in management, and it got lost in the shuffle. Ms. Desmarais wants to talk to you about updating the interview and maybe having a photoshoot done so we could have the article out this fall.”

“Oh,” Kurt said, trying to regain his composure. He had been clutching the arm of the couch so tightly that his hand hurt. “That’s… that’s great, yeah. I would love to do that. I just thought… with Sebastian gone, it wouldn’t be published.”

“Oh, no, she loves your stuff,” Karen assured him. “Most of the pieces that were lined up for future issues aren’t going to be published, but she got a hold of your feature somehow and she loves it. She’d love to meet with you as soon as possible.”

Kurt had almost finished scheduling the meeting when it occurred to him that the ‘somehow’ Karen had referred to probably had a lot to do with Sebastian making sure that the article had been seen by the new editor. Sebastian had been trying to live up to his end of the bargain even though they hadn’t actually gone through with the marriage. Kurt wondered if it was meant as an apology for having him lie to his family and friends at Finn’s wedding. Maybe it was just Sebastian’s way of saying goodbye.

-

For the next few weeks, Sebastian was hardly on Kurt’s mind at all. Despite initially wanting to call Sebastian again to try and talk to him about the article, Kurt had quickly talked himself out of it. Sebastian had made it clear that he didn’t want to be a part of Kurt’s life anymore. It was difficult to accept, but Kurt had dealt with worse. After his meeting with Genevieve, he didn’t have much time to spend moping over lost potential with Sebastian, anyway. Kurt had too many other things to focus on. Genevieve had talked to him about running the feature, but that wasn’t all. She was far more enthusiastic about Kurt’s work than he had anticipated, and they had only talked about the feature for a little while, to schedule interviews and photoshoots. The rest of the meeting was spent discussing Kurt’s future design plans. Genevieve had shown his work to Maya Georges, an established designer based in New York who was interested in giving Kurt a job when one of the designers working under her left in September.

“I know it’s not as glamorous as starting your own line,” Genevieve had told him, “but everyone needs to start somewhere. It really helps having a mentor, and you’ll be able to do some designing while learning more about how the industry works. It will make it a lot easier if you still want to have your own line in the future. You’re so talented, Kurt. I hope you’ll consider it.”

Kurt had never expected to have his own line immediately, and after a meeting with Maya, he was convinced that her company was the perfect fit for him right now. She had been kind and enthusiastic, and she truly seemed to love his designs. Kurt tried to ignore the nagging feeling that it was all because she knew Sebastian, or had at least been given a bribe by him. Whether that was true or not, it was too good of an offer to pass up. If Maya wasn’t already convinced that he was talented, Kurt was going to prove it to her himself. He accepted the position, and in a few months, he would have his first designing job. It was actually going to happen.

Four months ago, Kurt could never have imagined that his life would have taken this turn. It had been one of the worst periods of his life. Losing Blaine, the apartment, his job, and Sebastian in such rapid succession had been devastating, and in retrospect, Kurt was impressed with himself for not having a complete mental breakdown. There had been a lot of tears, way too much lying, and a few very questionable decisions, but Kurt had made it to the other side of the tunnel mostly unscathed. 

His new beginning was approaching, and he couldn’t wait to start over. He just needed one final push.

-

It happened on July 20th.

Though it would end up being another one of those days Kurt would never forget, it had started out fairly normal. An awful heat wave had just broken, and it was the first day in over a week where going outside didn’t feel like stepping through the gates of Hell. Kurt had spent most of the day packing with Rachel, who had been acting strange all week. He was pretty sure she was hiding something, but she remained tight-lipped. His only clue was that every time she saw him, she would ask if he’d received any interesting visitors that day. 

“Can you just tell me who I should be expecting?” Kurt asked her that afternoon. “Is it Santana? Because I _really_ don’t need to go to Atlantic City again, OK? I’m fine.”

“Of course you are,” she said, ignoring his questions. “We need to find some more boxes, I think.”

They stopped boxing things up soon after that, and Thom had come over to make an elaborate vegan meal with Rachel. Kurt took a walk to the convenience store a few blocks over to see if they had any more boxes they were willing to part with. He arrived home 20 minutes later with five large, flattened boxes, and after struggling to get them through the narrow doorway, he dropped them on the floor.

“You’re going next time,” he called out to Rachel. “Or at least coming with me. It’s not fair that I have to do it every time.” He walked over to the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water, and noticed a large box from Santino’s sitting on the kitchen table. Thom must have brought it, though Kurt hadn’t noticed it before he left. “Um, you guys know that cheesecake isn’t vegan, right?”

“It’s not for us,” Rachel said. Kurt glanced over to where her voice was coming from. She was leaning against the arm of the couch in the living room, her face lit up with a cheerful grin. Thom was standing next to her, looking a bit guilty.

“Who’s it for, then?” Kurt asked. glancing back at the box. He was really hoping that it was meant for him. He could use a piece of cheesecake after spending the day helping Rachel pack up her Precious Moments figurines.

“It’s for you, of course. Who else?” The voice was familiar, but didn’t belong to Rachel or Thom, and Kurt looked up, startled. Sebastian was standing in the living room, too, a few feet behind Thom. Kurt couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed him before. 

Trying to cover up his shock, Kurt schooled his features into an angry expression. “Who let him in?” he asked, sending Rachel a glare. 

Her grin faltered. “I did. I thought you’d want to see him.”

It occurred to Kurt then that Sebastian must have been the visitor Rachel had been asking about. She must have been in contact with Sebastian somehow, so she was anticipating his arrival. “Well, I don’t,” he said, still avoiding Sebastian’s eyes. It had been too long, and Kurt had gotten over Sebastian, and him being here, looking so good, and bringing Kurt presents was really not going to help matters.

“Don’t be an asshole,” Sebastian said. “I came all the way to Brooklyn to give you a cheesecake, you can at least look at me.”

“Did Rachel tell you to get this for me?” Kurt asked, finally lifting his gaze to meet Sebastian’s. 

Sebastian looked offended. “Of course not. It’s not like it’s a secret how weird you are about cheesecake.”

“It’s from Santino’s,” Kurt said. “There’s no way you would-”

“The day we met,” interrupted Sebastian. “At the party, you…” he trailed off, looking uncomfortable. “Can we go somewhere where your friends won’t be staring at us?” he asked, shooting Thom and Rachel a quick glance. “Maybe for a walk or something?”

Kurt had been fully prepared to ignore everything Sebastian said to him and kick him out of the apartment, but he was oddly touched that Sebastian had remembered the first thing they had talked about. He didn’t think he was ready to offer forgiveness yet, if that’s even what Sebastian wanted, but Kurt figured he should at least let Sebastian explain himself, even if it was just to satisfy his own curiosity. At the very least, it would give Kurt a chance to scold Sebastian for the way he had disappeared from his life for so long. “Fine,” he said. “We’ll go outside.”

Sebastian followed Kurt down the stairs of his building, and neither of them spoke. Their footsteps echoed loudly in the stairwell, but Kurt was convinced he could hear his heart pounding above the noise. It was difficult to calm down when he didn’t know what he was facing. Sebastian could be there for a number of reasons. Just because he had shown up with a gift didn’t mean Kurt was going to like what Sebastian had to say. Maybe he had changed his mind about the marriage now that the date of his work visa’s expiration was upon him, and he was going to try to convince Kurt to marry him again. Anything was possible after so long without contact. Though Kurt was angry about being abandoned in Ohio and then ignored for so long, it was an incredible relief just to see Sebastian again and know that, at least on the surface, he was OK. Kurt had convinced himself that he had already seen the last of Sebastian, and as they walked outside together, Kurt had to fight the urge to give him a hug. 

“So,” he said instead, trying to sound as irritated as possible, “what is it that you want from me?”

Sebastian was quiet for a moment as they walked down the sidewalk. Eventually, he let out a sigh and said, “I don’t know where to start.”

“Can I make a recommendation?” Kurt asked. He didn’t wait for Sebastian’s reply before continuing. “How about an apology? You know, for ditching me, ignoring all of my calls for over a month, and then suddenly showing up uninvited at my apartment after I’d finally given up on you? Jesus, Sebastian, you could have been dead for all I knew!”

Sebastian stopped walking and turned toward Kurt, who halted as well. “You probably would have heard if I were dead,” he pointed out. “My family’s sort of a big deal.”

“That doesn’t sound like an apology to me,” Kurt replied.

“The cheesecake was supposed to be the apology.”

Kurt narrowed his eyes, all previous thoughts of goodwill toward Sebastian gone. “Do you have any idea how awful it was to tell my family that you left? To explain to them that we lied to them?”

“I could send them a cheesecake, too?”

Kurt let out a frustrated grunt. He couldn’t believe Sebastian had come all the way to Brooklyn to behave this way. “I don’t get you,” Kurt snapped. “I _know_ you have the potential to act like a human being. I’ve seen you do it, so _why_ do you always choose to be an asshole instead?” Kurt stalked off then, heading back toward his building. He was glad he hadn’t let his hopes get up too high.

“Kurt, wait,” Sebastian said, closing the distance between them and grabbing Kurt’s wrist. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I’m feeling sort of…” He bit his lip, never finishing the thought.

Kurt sighed. “What is that you want, Sebastian?” 

“To apologize,” he replied, fixing his eyes on Kurt’s. “For real. I shouldn’t have left like that, but I just… really didn’t want to marry you.” 

It felt like Sebastian had punched Kurt, and it must have shown on his face, because Sebastian hastened to add, “I mean… Kurt, I couldn’t marry you, because you didn’t want that. I know you didn’t. I couldn’t do that to you and your family.”

Though Kurt was touched by the words, he tried not to let it show. “How noble of you,” he said. “You still should have talked to me about it before leaving.”

“I didn’t want you to try and talk me out of it,” Sebastian told him. “And you would have, but I know it wasn’t what you wanted. Marriage is important to you, and…” Sebastian sighed. “It wasn’t just for you. I was being selfish, too. I didn’t want to marry you because I knew that if we went through with it, nothing real could ever happen between us. It would all just exist in the context of this fake marriage.”

Kurt wanted to make sure he’d understood correctly. “And you… wanted something real?”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “You were _there_ , right? Wasn’t it obvious?” 

Kurt thought back to the night of the wedding, remembering the way Sebastian had looked at him. It had seemed obvious then, but it had become much easier to doubt as the weeks passed. 

“I know you said you were just trying to convince yourself that you felt something,” Sebastian continued, “but it wasn’t like that for me. I just… couldn’t go through with the marriage. Not like that.”

“It wasn’t like that for me, either,” Kurt said. He was starting to wish they were somewhere a bit more private. Though none of the people walking past were paying them any attention, the street didn’t feel like the right place to have this conversation. “I thought it was, but..”

“Yeah, uh, that’s sort of why I’m here,” Sebastian said, absently scratching at the back of his neck. “Rachel told me.”

“She called you?” Kurt asked.

“I called her,” Sebastian corrected.

“Why didn’t you call _me_? You know I wanted you to. I must have left you 20 messages.”

Sebastian looked apologetic. “I should have, but if you didn’t feel the same way, I didn’t want to bother you after all this time. Or, um… deal with rejection,” he added with a self-deprecating laugh. “I mean, not that I think I’ve necessarily avoided rejection here already, but…”

“I’m going to kill Rachel,” Kurt said, trying to stop Sebastian from rambling on further. He started walking again, keeping a leisurely pace, and Sebastian followed.

“Don’t do that,” Sebastian said, looking grateful. “I told her not to say anything to you. She just wanted to help.” 

They walked in silence for another minute before Kurt spoke again. “Why did you wait so long?”

“I didn’t want to talk to you unless I actually had something to tell you,” Sebastian replied. “But everything’s mostly worked out now.” He took a deep breath. “I have to fly back to France tomorrow. It’s the last day my visa is valid.”

“Oh,” Kurt said. After hearing Sebastian’s admission about his feelings, the news felt like a physical blow. “So you came here to say goodbye?”

“No,” Sebastian replied. “Well, yes, I guess, but mostly I came to ask you a question.”

Kurt stopped in his tracks. For one fleeting moment, he thought he was about to be proposed to again, and before he could stop himself, he blurted out, “Oh god, please tell me you’re not going to ask me to marry you.”

Sebastian, who had stopped a few steps ahead, looked amused. “Uh, no,” he said, then seemed to reconsider. “Well, not today, anyway.” 

Kurt felt a blush creep up on his cheeks as they started walking again. He felt silly for jumping to conclusions. Of course Sebastian wasn’t going to propose. _Not today, anyway_ , Kurt thought, a thrill coursing through his body at the possibility.

Sebastian glossed over Kurt’s mistake and continued. “I just wanted to see if you wanted to go out. Like, to dinner or something?”

“Tonight?” Kurt asked, still trying to get over his embarrassment. He couldn’t understand why Sebastian was asking him out if he was moving back to France the next day.

“Not tonight, no,” Sebastian said. “I actually still have a lot of packing to do, but I’m coming back in October. I mean, there’s no pressure or anything…”

“You’re asking me to go out with you in October?” Kurt asked, hoping for some clarification. The conversation had become pretty hard to follow in the past few minutes. “That’s kind of a long distance relationship, isn’t it?”

Sebastian cocked his head to the side, confused. “Long distance? No, I’ll be here. I’m coming back in October. Moving back, I mean.” Kurt released the breath he had been holding, and Sebastian continued. “Remember that job Thom offered me? Apparently it’s enough to make me a worthwhile cultural addition to the United States. It was too late for me to get a renewal, though, and the job doesn’t start for a little while, so I have to file for a visa all over again. I’ll be in France for the interim, but then I should be back here for good. I’m going to try and get a green card the real way.” Sebastian came to a stop and took hold of Kurt’s arm to stop him as well. “My uncle said he’s going to pull some strings to make sure my application gets processed in time for me to start work in October,” Then, with mock curiosity coloring his tone, Sebastian asked, “Do you have any idea why he might do that?”

Kurt felt a rush of warmth go through him, knowing that he had somehow convinced Charles to give Sebastian some help. He gave Sebastian an innocent shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe for the same reason the new editor of _La Chance_ called me to talk about running a feature on my designs?”

Sebastian’s face lit up. “She did?”

“She did,” Kurt confirmed. “You really didn’t have to do that, you know.”

“Hey, all I did was leave the stuff where she could find it,” Sebastian said. “If she called you, it’s because she liked it. I didn’t bribe her or anything.”

“I’m glad,” Kurt said, unable to keep from smiling. “I took the job, but I was a little worried that I hadn’t actually earned it.”

“She offered you a job?”

“Well, no, but she referred me to Maya Georges, and I’m going to be working as a designer there starting in September,” Kurt explained. Though everyone else in his life had already heard about his job, Kurt had never been able to talk about it and feel sure that he had earned it. It was a good feeling.

“That’s so great, Kurt,” Sebastian said, giving him a warm smile. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” Kurt replied, blushing a bit as he looked down at the ground. Sebastian had pulled them over to the side of the street, near an alley that only held dumpsters, so they wouldn’t be in the way of passersby. “Your uncle, he, uh… he knew about me wanting to start my own line.” 

“Yeah, I told him,” Sebastian admitted. “I didn’t know he was going to offer you all that money, though. I didn’t tell him to. I mostly was just hoping he’d let you stay with the company. But I guess it’s good he didn’t keep you, right? Because now you have a much better job.”

Kurt laughed. “Yeah, definitely. Everything was such a mess for a while but now it’s all sort of just… falling into place.”

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “It’s ‘falling into place’ because you’re talented and you worked your ass off to get where you are,” he said. “It was bound to happen eventually. Did you find a new apartment?”

Kurt was still smiling at Sebastian’s compliment when he replied. “Yeah, actually. It’s a studio, and I’ll still be in Brooklyn, but it’s not bad. I have about 10 days between when I have to move out of here and when I can move in there, though.”

“Oh, yeah?” Sebastian asked, furrowing his brow. “What are you going to do?”

“Rachel and Thom said I could stay with them, and they have room for most of my stuff, too. His place is huge. I might just leave my stuff there and go visit my parents, though. I don’t start work until September so I don’t have a reason to be in the city.”

Sebastian seemed to perk up at the news. “You know, if you wanted… I’m going to be staying with my parents in Paris, and there’s plenty of room there, and I’ll have lots of free time, so if you wanted to come out and see Paris, you’d have a place to stay and personal tour guide.”

Kurt’s jaw dropped open. “You’re inviting me to Paris?”

“It was just a suggestion,” Sebastian said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “I know you’ve always wanted to go… and, hey, you can work on your awful French accent.”

Kurt ignored the weak insult. He _did_ want to go. It was an exciting offer, but they weren’t even dating yet. It seemed a little fast, and he wasn’t sure if Sebastian had really thought about the implications of his offer. “You realize you just went from asking me out to dinner in October to inviting me to spend 10 days in Paris with you next month, right?” Kurt said. “I didn’t even agree to the dinner yet, actually, so it’s rather gutsy of you.”

Sebastian huffed out a laugh. “It’s fast, I know. You don’t have to. I know I waited too long, and we’re not… anything, and this would be really fast, but… if you want to come, you should.” He paused to take a deep breath. “I really, really like you,” he said, looking into Kurt’s eyes. “I think we’re good together. We’d be good together as a couple, too. It would work. I can just… see it, you know? I can tell. I’m not really into all that romantic shit, and I know you are, but… if you can overlook that… “ Sebastian trailed off, and gave the sky a brief look, as if it would give him courage. “I don’t really connect to people that often,” he continued, locking eyes with Kurt again. “But we’re compatible. We want the same things. And it doesn’t hurt that you’re also gorgeous, smart, and talented. And strong,” he added after a second. “You’re probably the strongest person I’ve ever met, Kurt.” There was another brief pause before Sebastian seemed to realize he’d veered off point. “So, uh, yeah,” he said, breaking eye contact with Kurt. “If you want to come, you’re definitely welcome. My parents would love you.”

Kurt stood shell-shocked for a moment, overwhelmed by Sebastian’s words. It always surprised him to have someone else recognize his good qualities. To have someone _want_ him. It wasn’t the first time Sebastian had complimented him, but it was the first time that it had happened when Kurt couldn’t blame it on alcohol or misplaced emotions from their fake engagement. Sebastian wasn’t going to get anything out of saying these things except _Kurt_. It had only been a few minutes since Kurt had feared a trip to Paris might be too fast, but now he was convinced that it was the logical next step.

“If I say yes,” Kurt started, closing the distance between him and Sebastian, “will you think it’s only because I want to go to Paris?”

Sebastian’s gaze flickered down to Kurt’s lips briefly. “Probably,” he admitted. “That’s OK, though. I know I need the boost to stack the odds in my favor.”

“You really don’t,” Kurt murmured, leaning in closer and giving Sebastian a gentle shove backward so they were in the alley. Once Kurt was satisfied that they were at least partially out of view of the rest of the street, he pushed up onto his toes and pressed his lips to Sebastian’s. Sebastian let out a surprised “mmmph’ noise as Kurt’s arms came up to wrap around his neck, but he didn’t back away from the kiss. Kurt pulled away a moment later, before things could get too graphic for their fairly public setting, but he left his arms draped loosely over Sebastian’s shoulders, keeping him close.

“You know,” Sebastian said after they stood there for a moment, “for someone who claims to not like kissing in public, you’ve done a whole lot of it with me.”

Kurt gave a quick look at their surroundings, feeling a bit embarrassed. “This is mostly private,” he protested. “And the wedding was… a special circumstance. And maybe I’m considering rethinking my position on public displays of affection, anyway.”

Sebastian smirked. “Yeah, my mouth tends to have that effect on people.” Kurt was still rolling his eyes when Sebastian kissed him. It felt so amazing to have Sebastian back in his life, pressed up against him, talking about the future. Kurt couldn’t have imagined any of it earlier that day, but he was already unwilling to let it go. He realized then that Sebastian had given him a pretty wonderful speech a few minutes ago, and Kurt had mostly just responded by kissing him. Not that Kurt thought his kisses were anything short of spectacular, but Sebastian probably deserved to hear Kurt express himself in words, too. 

He ended the kiss after a moment and looked up into Sebastian’s eyes. “I want to do this,” Kurt told him. “In case it wasn’t clear.” Sebastian huffed out a laugh. “I mean it,” Kurt continued. “Paris or no Paris. I think… I think you’re right, about us being compatible. I can picture it, too, us being together. I have pictured it.” He took a breath and tried to conjure up all of the the traits he had grown to love about Sebastian in the months they had known each other. Sebastian had, on more than one occasion, brought up Kurt’s good qualities, and Kurt thought Sebastian deserved the same treatment. After weeks of trying to convince himself that Sebastian was not worthy of his time, it was liberating to finally be able to admit these things. “You’re really funny,” Kurt said. “And not too sensitive, so I don’t have to worry about sparing your feelings when I make jokes. And you carry yourself with such confidence, it makes you even more attractive than you already are. You’re smart, and dependable, and I know you try to hide it but you have a really big heart, too.”

“Is that all?” Sebastian was trying to tease, but his unsteady voice and the color on his cheeks let Kurt know that he had actually been touched by the words.

“Yeah,” Kurt replied. “I think that’s most of it. I’m still mad at you, though,” he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Sebastian glanced down at Kurt’s arms still wrapped around his neck. “Yeah, I can tell,” he said with a laugh.

Kurt lowered his arms and started walking slowly back toward the street. “You won’t be laughing when I set my revenge plan in motion,” he said over his shoulder.

“Oh no,” Sebastian gasped with mock horror as he followed Kurt out. “I’m _so_ scared!”

“You should be,” Kurt replied, lifting his chin. “It involves my dad.”

At the mention of Kurt’s father, the color drained from Sebastian’s face. “You told your dad about this?”

“Um, I kind of had to,” Kurt replied. “I was at his house when you abandoned me, remember?” 

“I didn’t abandon you,” Sebastian said, sounding desperate. Kurt tried to hold back a grin. “I left you the rental car,” continued Sebastian. “I took a _cab_ , Kurt. In _Ohio._ ”

“I don’t think that will impress him very much,” Kurt replied. 

“OK, well… now that we’ve talked, you can just tell him that I mostly left to help you out. So it was good, what I did. He can’t hate me for that.”

Kurt decided not to mention that Burt had thought this was Sebastian’s reasoning all along. It was much more fun to watch him panic. “He might buy that,” Kurt said after pretending to ponder the suggestion. “I guess we’ll see.”

Though Kurt knew that his father didn’t hate Sebastian nearly as much as Sebastian feared, he also knew that it was going to be awkward with his family and friends for a while if he actually did end up dating Sebastian. By now, all of his friends and family members either knew about the fake engagement or had at least been told that the relationship was over. It would be hard to explain why he was bringing Sebastian back around again. How long would it take for his family to trust them again after all the deception? 

Kurt tried to shake the thought from his head as they approached his building again. He knew he was getting ahead of himself. Who knew if he and Sebastian would even be together long enough for it to be an issue? Kurt stopped walking once they reached his building’s front entrance, and realized for the first time that Sebastian was holding his hand. Kurt had been so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed. He glanced down at their joined hands for a moment before lifting his eyes to meet Sebastian’s. Kurt wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet.

“Do you want to come upstairs? I know you said you have to pack tonight, but-” 

“I don’t really have to,” Sebastian interrupted him. “The flight’s not until tomorrow night. I still have time.”

“You don’t have to stay late,” Kurt assured him. He thought it was probably better if Sebastian didn’t stay too long. It would make the goodbyes and the separation a lot harder. “But Rachel and Thom’s vegan feast is probably about ready, if you want to join us for dinner. And,” he continued, giving Sebastian a playful grin, “some guy who’s trying to get back in my good graces brought over an _amazing_ cheesecake.” 

“Oh, yeah?” Sebastian asked, giving him a smirk. “I hope it helped his case a little.”

“It was a start,” replied Kurt. “Anyway, I know you claim to dislike cheesecake, but I daresay that’s just because you’ve never tasted Santino’s.”

“I could give it a try,” Sebastian said, giving Kurt’s hand a squeeze.

“And then maybe we could look up flights?” Kurt asked, letting go of Sebastian’s hand. “Because, um, I have to move out in about three weeks, so there’s not a lot of time for planning…”

“Yeah, definitely,” Sebastian agreed, nodding. “We should do that.”

Relieved by Sebastian’s enthusiasm, Kurt smiled and held open the door, motioning for Sebastian to head inside first. He remained in the doorway for a moment, letting Sebastian get a bit ahead of him, and exhaled when he thought Sebastian was out of earshot. _This is happening_ , Kurt thought. _I’m about to book a flight to Paris and we’re going to try and make this work._ He knew there was a good chance it wouldn’t work out. It was probably too soon, they were probably too damaged, the connection they had would probably not last through the trip.

Kurt had no way of knowing, that day in his apartment’s entryway, that he would spend his time in Paris starting to fall in love in a haze of wine, public shouting matches, and private kisses, or that one day, he would have that platinum ring that had been taken from him back on his finger. He didn’t know that this awkward vegan dinner with Rachel, Thom, and Sebastian would be the last first date he ever went on. 

Kurt didn’t know these things then, but he wanted to believe they were possible. He wanted to take the chance. 

Sebastian was already halfway up the first flight of stairs before he realized that Kurt wasn’t right behind him anymore.

“Hey, Kurt?” he called.

“Sorry,” Kurt replied, letting the door close behind him. “I’ll be there in a minute.” He tried to imagine all of the lingering feelings of inadequacy that had sprouted in the wake of his horrible year trapped on the other side of that door, unable to cross the threshold into this new beginning that had been looming in the distance for the past few months. He was ready to start over.

Kurt gave the door one last look, gathered his courage, and climbed the stairs to join Sebastian.


	14. Epilogue

Kurt was running late for Friday night dinner.

He knew it even before he checked his phone for the time as he rounded the corner onto his block. It had been busy at work the past few weeks, but Kurt had usually managed to get out a bit earlier than this on Friday nights. He sighed, shoved his phone back into his pocket, and tightened his scarf to protect himself from the cold January air. 

He knew being late wasn’t that big of a deal. Friday night plans were never time-sensitive. It was Kurt and Sebastian’s night to stay in, ignore everyone else, and spend time together. When they had first started dating, Friday nights had been more like date nights. Finding time to go out had been tough in the first few months of their relationship, with both of them working at new jobs with conflicting schedules. They had made it a point to always try and keep Friday nights free so they could go out and have dinner. It wasn’t as hard to find time to spend together anymore, now that they shared an apartment, but Kurt enjoyed their new Friday night traditions even more. He loved having a night dedicated to cooking, television, and cuddling. Kurt also loved that he was carrying on his family’s tradition. Every time he and Sebastian sat down to dinner on a Friday, Kurt imagined Burt and Carole sitting down to dinner at their dining room table in Lima, and Finn and Kayla getting their daughter settled in her booster seat at their kitchen table. He felt connected to all of them in that moment. 

Kurt picked up his pace, anxious to get home as soon as possible. It was late, he was cold, and he had hardly seen his boyfriend for more than two minutes at a time that week. For the first time in a month, he had a full weekend off, and he couldn’t wait to get it started.

A few minutes later, after a quick hello to the doorman and a short wait for the elevator, Kurt was home.

“Sebastian?” he called as he closed the door behind him. “I’m home.”

Sebastian appeared in the living room a moment later, dressed in flannel pajama pants and a white t-shirt. His hair was wet, which meant Kurt had been so late that Sebastian had had the time to work out and shower.

“Sorry I’m late,” Kurt said, unbuttoning his coat. 

“It’s fine,” Sebastian assured him. “Is everything OK at work?”

Kurt sighed. “Yeah, we just had another _fun_ celebrity fitting.” He shrugged the coat off of his shoulders and draped it over the back of the nearest armchair.

“Sara Torrance, right?”

“Yep. She brought her three demon-children with her, though. They ran around screaming for hours and touched pretty much everything with their sticky little hands.”

Sebastian cringed. “Sounds delightful.”

“She didn’t even scold them!” Kurt continued. “Maybe she’s given up on trying to train those monsters to behave like human beings.” He was happy to finally express his exasperation. Being rude to movie stars that wanted to wear a dress made by Maya Georges and her team was generally frowned upon at work. “I swear, if we ever have kids that behave like that, I’m sending them to reform school.”

“Wow,” Sebastian said, looking amused. “You’re gonna be the funnest dad _ever_.”

“Manners and decorum are fun,” Kurt insisted. He walked up to Sebastian to give him a quick peck on the lips. “And how was your day?”

“It was OK,” Sebastian replied. “No sticky celebrity children at work, at least.”

Kurt grinned. “And thank god for that.”

“Hallelujah,” Sebastian said with a smirk. Kurt pushed up on his toes to give Sebastian another kiss, and when he pulled back, Kurt rested his head on Sebastian’s shoulder. 

“I love Fridays,” Kurt murmured, savoring Sebastian’s warmth. At times like these, it was hard for Kurt to remember why he ever felt the need to complain about anything. He knew how fortunate he was to have a job he enjoyed, a man he loved, and a _stunning_ penthouse apartment, all before the age of 30. If the biggest issue in his life right now was annoying celebrity children, he knew was doing pretty well. 

“Me, too,” replied Sebastian. He kissed the top of Kurt’s head before they separated.

“So it’s your week to pick the recipe,” Kurt said after a moment. “What did you decide on?”

“I didn’t pick anything,” Sebastian said. “I was thinking maybe we could just order Chinese later?”

Kurt would have complained about the cheating if he weren’t guilty of doing it so often himself. Also, Chinese food sounded really delicious. “That’s fine, but how much later? It must be 7:30 by now.”

“I just have to do one thing first.” Sebastian paused. “You’re still free this weekend, right? No work stuff came up?”

“Nope,” Kurt replied. “My schedule’s clear. Why?”

“I think we should go away for a few days,” Sebastian said. “Maybe go upstate or something, get away for a little while so we can celebrate.”

Though Kurt and Sebastian had never been great at remembering anniversaries and birthdays, Kurt was pretty sure he hadn’t missed one. “Celebrate what?”

Sebastian smiled at him. “You’ll see. Now,” he continued, reaching out and putting his hands on Kurt’s waist to keep him in place, “stand here, pay attention, and savor this, because I can promise you that this is the last time I will ever be this nauseatingly romantic.” He paused. “Well, unless you say no, in which case…”

Kurt tried to hold back his squeal, but he wasn’t very successful. “You’re proposing, aren’t you?!”

“Wow, Kurt, way to ruin the surprise,” Sebastian replied, but his eyes were twinkling with delight.

“You ruined the surprise yourself,” Kurt said, giving Sebastian a playful grin as he took a step back. “Now get on with it!”

Sebastian eyed the gap between them, suddenly seeming a bit scared. “Do I have to be down on one knee for this, or…?”

Kurt couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re right, this is nauseatingly romantic.”

“Seriously, is the knee thing important to you?” Sebastian asked. “Because I’ll do it if you want me to, but you know how I feel about being on my knees in any non-sexual situation.”

“You’re good where you are,” Kurt assured him. Sebastian had seemed confident a moment ago, but Kurt could tell that nerves were now taking over. Sebastian’s expression wasn’t playful and light anymore, so Kurt stepped in closer to him again and spoke into his ear. “You can relax, baby,” he murmured. “I’m going to say yes.”

“I know,” Sebastian replied, giving Kurt a small smile. “I know, but this is still a big deal. I want it to be… good.”

The proposal _was_ a big deal, but it hadn’t been much of a surprise. Kurt and Sebastian had never shied away from discussing the future, and marriage had come up a lot since they had moved in together. Sebastian had said early on in the relationship that he wanted to wait until he had become a permanent U.S. resident through his job, so he wouldn’t be getting his green card by marrying Kurt. Given how their relationship had started, it was important to Sebastian to earn it on his own. The restriction hadn’t seemed like a bad idea at the time, but lately, it had been difficult to deal with. They were ready to get married, and they both wanted to, but Kurt had refrained from proposing until he knew that Sebastian felt OK with giving up his quest to prove himself. Kurt had, on numerous occasions, assured him that only the two of them mattered in this decision. Not Sebastian’s uncle, not Kurt’s family, not the immigration lawyer. Sebastian had been receptive, and Kurt had known it would only be a matter of time.

“You know I wanted to wait until I had a green card,” Sebastian continued. “I really did. But you were right. It’s not important what anyone else thinks. You know it has nothing to do with the green card, and I know it, and that’s all that matters.”

Kurt gave him a warm smile. “It is,” he agreed. “And even though it doesn’t matter, I’m pretty sure no one actually thinks you’re trying to marry me to get a green card.”

“Probably not,” said Sebastian. “But I still wish… “ He sighed. “ I know I would have gotten approved eventually, but when I was talking to Cathy, she said it could be five more years, and… it’s not that I won’t want to marry you in five years, but… I really would prefer to do it now.”

“Me too,” Kurt murmured. They stood silent for a moment, just gazing at each other, before Sebastian continued his speech.

“Meeting you changed my life, Kurt, in hundreds of amazing ways. Remember when I told you that New York was my home? It’s not just that anymore, it’s you, and us, here in New York together, _that’s_ home for me. And I know that no matter what happens, that will always be true. I’m always going to love you, and I’m never going to feel quite this way about anyone else.” Sebastian’s eyes were intense and focused on Kurt, who was unsuccessfully trying to blink back his tears. “I _know_ that.”

“I love you,” Kurt said through a sniffle. “I’m so glad I met you. I don’t know what my life would be like if I hadn’t, but I know it couldn’t possibly have been this amazing without you. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Sebastian’s eyes also looked a little wet, but he gave Kurt a small smile. “So that’s a yes, then?”

“I don’t think you actually asked,” Kurt pointed out. “But yes, of course I will marry you. And I won’t even tell people that you cried.”

“I’m not crying,” Sebastian insisted, rubbing at his eyes with the back of his hand. “No tears touched my face. And anyway, you’re one to talk.” He pressed a finger to one of the tear tracks on Kurt’s cheek. “Leakage,” Sebastian announced. “Someone’s crying here, but it’s not me.”

“You can’t hold that against me,” Kurt said. “I cry all the time. I _embrace_ my tears. You don’t. Therefore, this is a free pass for me to mock you.”

“I propose to you, and this is what I get,” Sebastian joked.

Kurt laughed. “Regretting it already, huh?”

Sebastian’s face turned serious again. “Never.” He leaned down and pressed his lips against Kurt’s, but before Kurt could wrap his arms around Sebastian to pull him closer and deepen the kiss, Sebastian pulled back. “Wait, not yet,” he said, walking across the room and grabbing something small off of the end table by the couch. “I forgot the ring.” Once he had returned, he held out his hand. There was a familiar platinum ring sitting in his open palm.

“You kept this?” Kurt asked, experiencing his first real shock of the evening at the sight of the ring Sebastian had first given him over four years before the holiday gala. 

“Yeah,” Sebastian said, ducking his head. 

“I had no idea you still had it,” Kurt said, taking the ring between two fingers and examining it. “I haven’t seen this since… well, the day you left me in Ohio.”

“I was pretty sure I’d need it again someday,” replied Sebastian, his eyes meeting Kurt’s again. “I know there are probably some bad memories attached to it, but I figured the good memories probably outweigh the bad ones. They do for me, anyway.”

“Me, too,” Kurt assured him.

“And we’re going to probably just get new rings for the wedding, anyway, so it’s just temporary…”

Kurt stopped him with a peck on the lips. “It’s perfect.” He held the ring back out to Sebastian. “Put it on for me?”

Sebastian took the ring back and slid it onto Kurt’s outstretched finger. “Still fits,” he said with a grin.

“Well, of course it does,” Kurt scoffed. He held his hand out to admire the new addition. It felt wonderful to have the ring back where it belonged. “We’re engaged,” he said after a moment, letting out a happy sigh. He pulled Sebastian into a hug. “I can’t believe you’ve proposed to me twice now, and I haven’t even gotten to propose once!”

Sebastian laughed as he stepped back. “It’s for the best. It would take you way too long to summarize the billions of reasons you desperately want to marry me. We’d be here for ages.”

“Hmmm,” Kurt said, pretending to think. “Your money and your ass,” he continued after a moment, counting off on his fingers. “That only took a few seconds.”

“That hurts, darling,” Sebastian replied, clutching at his chest. “Aren’t you going to include a sonnet about my magnificent cock?”

Kurt smirked. “I was thinking of saving that for the wedding vows, actually.”

“Good choice,” Sebastian remarked. “Your dad will really appreciate that.”

“He _has_ always encouraged my artistic endeavors,” replied Kurt. 

Sebastian leaned down to kiss him, and this time, allowed Kurt to deepen the kiss and pull him closer. It wasn’t until Sebastian had reached for the button on his fly that Kurt spoke again. 

“Let’s go to the bedroom,” he suggested. When Sebastian hummed in agreement, Kurt took his hand and led him upstairs. While Kurt normally didn’t mind getting off quickly in the middle of the living room (or kitchen, or bathroom, or hallway), he felt that just-engaged sex really called for something more elaborate. He wanted to really _celebrate_ Sebastian that night, lay him down on the bed and worship every inch of his body. Though Kurt wasn’t the one who proposed today, he wanted to remind Sebastian that he would have, over and over, a hundred times, if necessary. 

They were kissing again the moment they entered the bedroom, but as soon as they had situated themselves on the bed, Kurt’s phone vibrated.

“Let me just turn this off,” he said, fishing it out of his pants pocket once Sebastian gave him some space. Kurt saw that he had just received a text from Mercedes. “Oh, hold on a second,” he said. “I almost forgot, I have to tell Mercedes!”

Sebastian looked at him in disbelief. “Seriously? Right now?” He inched closer to Kurt again and started unbuttoning the top button of his shirt. “I’m sure she can wait.”

“I promised her I’d tell her first,” Kurt protested, but his resolve weakened as Sebastian pressed his lips to his neck and start sucking. “It will only take a minute. I’m yours all weekend, remember?”

Sebastian looked up and locked his eyes on Kurt’s. “Not just for the weekend,” he said. “You’re mine for the rest of my life.”

Kurt’s breath caught in his throat as he looked down at his fiancé, this wonderful man who he was going to spend the rest of his life with. He tugged Sebastian upright so he could give him a proper kiss. 

Sebastian had been right, Kurt decided as he tossed his phone onto the nightstand. Mercedes could wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end! Thanks so much to anyone who read it. I hope it was an enjoyable experience for you! <3


End file.
